House of Liars
by patriciawilliamsons
Summary: Joy has gone missing, and the Anubis house residents start recieving strange messages from someone called...J?
1. Prolouge

**Hey! Thanks for clicking on this(;**

**Some things you should know:**

**This is just the Prolouge, not the first chapter.**

**This takes place a year before Nina comes. I know, in the show, the beginning was the day that Nina came, but I'm changing it to a year before.**

**'Ouija' is pronounced 'wee-jee'. Don't ask me why, cause I have no idea either :P I think its French or something...This isn't random, you'll find out why I told you when you read this.**

**This is going to be a lot like Pretty Little Liars, except with HOA characters. So, it's not gonna be about the cup of ankh and stuff.**

**Also: This is dedicated to nabian8735 for being my BFFF and helping me out with this! If you haven't checked out her stories, do so! They are AMAZING(:**

"Move back a little!" Patricia Williamson instructed her best friend Joy Mercer. It was the day before school started back up again, and Joy decided that she needed a new profile photo for the school year and asked Patricia to take it.

"Aww, hurry up!" Joy complained.

"Just a bit farther-" said Patricia, but was interupted by a squeal coming from Joy as she fell on top of Fabian Rutter, as Patricia had intended her to do.

"Woah-hey-careful!" Fabian said, as he and Joy scrambled to sit upright.

"Thats your new profile photo!" Patricia exclaimed as she snapped a picture of them.

Joy finally mananged to get up. "Sorry Fabes!" She said, brushing herself off. She grabbed the book that Fabian had evidently just been reading. "Theory of Computational Intelligence," she read. She turned to look at him. "Bit of light reading?"

"Joy," said Fabian, taking the book back. "Just because it doesn't have Robert Pattinson on the cover, doesn't mean its not worth reading."

Joy giggled and shook her head. Patricia knew that Joy facied Fabian, and it was obvious that he facied her too.

"So, we still having our end-of-summer bash tonight?" Patricia asked, helping Joy stand up.

"I suppose...as long as Jerome and Alfie hadn't done something that made Victor so angry he cancelled it." Fabian replied.

"Nah, I doubt they'd do that." said Joy. "This is Jerome and Alfie we're talking about, you know how they love a good party."

That night, throughout the entire party, Patricia felt like there was someone watching her. She'd see a dark shadow outside a window, but dismiss at as a trick of the light or a reflection from inside. Many times, she even thought she saw a face. Other than that, the party went great. Everyone had a good time. But, it was after the party however, when the trouble started.

"Okay guys, I have a bit of a...game that we can play, you know, like an after-party game." said Joy. It was just after midnight, and Patricia was clearing the food off the table after everyone went home.

"What kind of game?" Fabian asked. He and the others were also helping Patricia clean up.

"A fun game. Now everybody come into the living room, so I can show it to you." Joy commanded. Everyone did as she said, as usual. "Sit in a circle. And kill the lights, and close the curtains."

"We aren't going to play spin the bottle, are we?" Jerome asked.

"Of course not, how old are you, 12?" Joy said disdainfully. "Now will someone PLEASE turn off the lights?"

Mick stood up and turned off the lights. The only light was coming from a flashlight that Joy was holding. In her other hand, she was holding a flat piece of wood with what looked like letter painted on it. Patricia realized it was a ouija board.

"Okay," said Joy, holding the flashlight under her chin and creepily illuminating her face. "This is a ouija board. For those of you amatuers who don't know what a ouija board it, you ask it a question, and spirits move this pointer-" she pointed at the pointer "-to communicate the answer. So if any of you have any questions for anyone who died recently, this is the thing to use. Any takers?"

Mara looked at the floor. Fabian fingered with his guitar pick necklace while staring intently at Joy. Mick played with his shoelace. Patricia picked at a fingernail . Amber twirled her hair. Alfie and Jerome exchanged a glance. Joy was always coming up with strange things for them to do, whether it was an odd game, a dare, or even a prank. They didn't always necissarily _want _to do these things, but Joy had an odd power over them and they did whatever she said.

"Fine, since you all are CHICKENS," said Joy meanly, "I'll go first." she glanced around. "I'm going to ask my great-grandmother a question, cause she died last week."

"Oh I'm so-" Fabian started.

"_Quiet!"_ Joy hissed at him. "We need absolute silence for it to work. Everybody ready?"

Patricia and the others all nodded uncertainly. Joy moved the flashlight from her face to the ouija board. "O spirit of my Great-Grandma Jane," she chanted. "Tell me...is there anyone I should look out for? Anyone I should be scared of?"

For a second, nothing happened. Patricia crossed and uncrossed her legs. Fabian was still staring at Joy. Mara nervously rubbed her arms. Then, slowly, the pointer moved to the letter Y. Then the E. And it finally stopped on the S. Everyone gasped. _Yes. _

"Okay, that is WAY creepy," said Amber, standing up and turning on a light.

"Amber! Why would you do that?" Joy said angrily. "You just ruined it! She could've had more to say!"

"Please, Joy. I've seen these things before, and we all know it was you moving the pointer." said Alfie. "And besides, who would you have to look out for?"

"Don't ask me! It was the spirit of my great-grandma moving it! It won't work if you don't believe!" said Joy.

"Well, I wasn't believing this entire time, and it apparently worked." said Jerome.

"All of you! Shut up and turn the lights off!" Joy shouted.

"No!" Amber exclaimed. "It's too scary!"

"Then you can leave! I don't have time for chickens!" said Joy.

"Hey, lay off!" Mick said. "Maybe this was a bad idea Joy."

Patricia secretly agreed with him, though she said nothing.

"Yeah Joy, can we do something else?" Mara asked.

"NO!" Joy yelled. "I'm trying to help you contact the dead, but you all aren't believing, you're just being wimps!"

"Hey, Joy?" Patricia said gently. "Maybe we _should _do something else."

Joy looked at Patricia in horror. "How could you?" She demanded. "My own best friend!" She looked around at them. "That's it, I'm out of here."

Joy stood up, and walked out the front door, leaving everyone sitting in silence.

After a few minutes, Patricia stood up. "I should probably go find her." she said, walking out the door. She returned ten minutes later to find everyone in the same postitions they had been in when she left.

"No luck." Patricia said, shaking her head.

"Well, she'll turn up at some point." Mara said hopefully. "But we should get to bed now, we have our first day of classes tomorrow."

Everyone agreed and headed up to bed. But when they awoke the next morning, Joy was still nowhere to be found. When the teachers asked where she was, they told them she had ran off the night before.

Days passed, and Joy was still missing. The school called the police, and each of the students went in for questioning about the details of what had happened that night. They told the police everything they knew, but Joy still wasn't found.

In the month that followed, Patricia worried that it was her fault that Joy had run out. Fabian fretted about a letter he had stuck in Joy's bag that day when she fell on top of him, wondering if she ever read it. Amber tried not to think about Joy, because it made her sad. Alfie and Jerome played more pranks than ever, to get their minds off of what had happened that night. But, none of them could bear to think about the fact that Joy may be dead.

Eventually, they all moved on with their lives. The police continued searching, but quietly, and the newpapers and such lost interest in the case. The students all still missed Joy, but deep down, they were also relieved that she was gone. It was horrible to think that she may be dead, but Joy knew things about them that no one else did, and they wanted it to stay that way. All of their secrets disapeared, just like Joy. For a year, anyway.

**So...How was that? Should I continue? Any suggestions?  
>PLEASE review! Thank you! x3<strong>


	2. Tip to the Not So Wise

**This is the first chapter- it takes place about a year after the prolouge.**

_"I will reveal the secrets behind these doors." ~Zahi Hawass_

* * *

><p>"What <em>are <em>you doing?" Nina Martin spun around to see a girl with red hair and pink streaks standing in the doorway of her new room. It was Nina's first day at a new school in England, and she wanted to start off well with the other students.

"Uhm...unpacking." said Nina lamely. "I'm Nina, I'm from America."

"I don't care, what are you doing with Joy's things?" The girl demanded.

"Sorry, but who's Joy?" Nina got the feeling that the girl had no idea that she was getting a new roommate.

"Sorry," said the girl sarcasticly, "but who are _you?"_

"Like I said, I'm Nina, I'm from America. I'm new."

"Okay, but why are you in my room, touching Joy's things?" The girl asked angrily.

"Who's Joy?" Nina asked curiously.

"My old roommate! You have no right to touch her things! Why are you even here anyway?"

Nina sighed. "I just started here, and I was told this is my room. I apologize for touching Joy's things."

The girl groaned. "I'm going to Victor. Do not touch anything!"

Nina sighed again. Hopefully the other students would be friendlier than her roommate.

The girl returned minutes later with Victor, whom Nina had met earlier.

"Why is she in my room!" The girl demanded of Victor.

"Patricia, calm down. Nina is a new student, and you will be sharing with her." Victor replied, sounding annoyed.

"But what am I supposed to do with Joy's things?" asked the girl apparently called Patricia.

"Patricia, this Joy nonsense has gone on long enough. Put it in boxes and I will ship it to her parents, as we should have done months ago." said Victor.

"But-"

"Do as I say!" Victor turned and walked out of the room.

Grumbling to herself, Patricia pulled a cardboard box out of the closet and started putting everything that was on Nina's side of the room before she got there into it.

"Do you need any help with that?" Nina asked a few minutes later.

"No!" Patricia snapped.

"O-kay..." Nina said quietly. She looked around the room and noticed that the walls were covered with pictures of a slightly younger Patricia and a girl with dark hair.

"Is that Joy?" she asked, gesturing to one of the pictures.

Patricia looked at her suspiciously. "Why do you care?"

Nina shrugged. "I don't know...Just curious."

Patricia didn't answer, she just continued putting things into the box. Nina took this as a yes.

Finally, Patricia finished putting everything in. "You can unpack now, but if you find anything over there that isn't yours give it to me. And don't touch any of my stuff."

Nina nodded. "Alright."

Patricia huffed and stomped out of them room. Nina quickly unpacked and then followed her, eager to meet everyone else.

"She's American, and like totally obsessed with it." she heard Patricia saying before she entered the room. "And she was just throwing Joy's things on the floor! No respect whatsoever!"

"Well Patricia, you should've let them clear that stuff out ages ago." said a boys voice. "She probably just didn't know what to do with it. And if she's from America, then she probably doesn't know about the Joy thing."

Nina walked into the room. "Hi, I'm Nina, I'm from America."

The room was silent for a moment.

"Hey, I'm Fabian." said a boy. He was rather tall with dark hair and green eyes, and, Nina couldn't help but notice, was rather good looking. "Welcome to the house."

"Thanks." said Nina shyly. She looked around at the other students sitting in the room. "So-"

"Time for supper!" trilled Trudy from the other room. Glad to be doing something other than standing around akwardly, Nina followed the others into the dining room and sat down in a chair.

"So, Nina, why don't you tell us about yourself?" said Trudy as she brought in the food.

"Well..." Nina hesitated. She wasn't sure what to say. "I was brought up by my Gran-"

"Why, what happened to your parents?" demanded a blonde girl sitting opposite of her.

"Amber, queen of tact..." snorted a blonde boy sitting at the other end of the table.

"Sorry!" said the girl, apparently named Amber quickly.

"It's fine. They-" She paused. She didn't much want to tell them that her parents were dead. "They're archeologists, so they travel alot. They're on a dig in Egypt at the moment."

"Ohhh, thats so exciting! You must have SO many foreign clothes, don't they send you presents?" Amber said excitedly.

"Uh...sure." Nina replied uncertainly, wishing she had told the truth.

"You must be really into history, since your parents are archeologists." said a girl with dark hair and tan skin. "I'm Mara, by the way."

"Hi Mara." said Nina, feeling guiltier by the second. "And well yeah, history is my favorite subject." At least she didn't have to lie about that.

All of a sudden, Nina felt something warm, wet and slimy land on her face. "Urgh!" she said, pulling it off and realizing it was spagetti.

"Sorry, I was aiming for Alfie." said the blonde boy.

"Oh, really?" said the boy next to Nina, apparently named Alfie. "I'll get you for that one Jerome!"

He flung some more food at Jerome, who flung some back, and by the time they were done everybody was covered in spagetti.

"Really guys, every night?" grumbled Fabian as he picked some lettuce out of his hair.

Patricia came down to their end of the table and grabbed the water jug. "Oh, don't mind me!" She said and the poured the water jug all over Nina's head.

Nina shrieked and stood up.

"Classy, Patricia." said Fabian sarcasticly as he helped dry Nina off.

"What? It was an accident!" claimed Patricia.

A few hours later, Amber was helping Nina unpack. Amber said it was because she was nice, but Nina knew that she just wanted to see all of her 'foreign' clothes.

"Oooh, where's this one from?" Amber squealed, holding up a blue wool sweater Nina was sure she had gotten from a department store in America. "It's sooooo furry!"

"Uhh..." Nina tried to think of a cold country. "Scandonavia." she declared, hoping it was cold there. Though even if it wasn't, she doubted Amber would know.

"Oooh, so...exotic!"

They continued on like this for an hour, with Amber holding up a random article of cothing every once in a while, and Nina making up a place where it would be from.

Finally, Nina decided it was time for bed and Amber left the room. After Nina had gotten her pajamas on, and was getting ready to get into bed, her phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw that she had one new text message, which she opened.

_Tip to the not-so-wise, Nina: Lying isn't the best way to make friends.  
>-J<em>

Nina froze. She checked who it was from, but it was a blocked number. She knew it couldn't be from any of her new housemates, they had exchanged numbers after dinner.

She looked out the window, towards the woods. Just before turning away, Nina could've sworn she saw a flash of brown hair disappearing into the woods.

"All the worlds a stage...the men and women are merely players." said a voice from the back of Amber's history classroom. She turned around and gasped. Sitting in the back of the room was an extremely handsome and extremely young man. "Hey. I'm Jason Winkler, your new history and drama teacher."

"_You're_ Mr. Fleming's replacement?" asked Mara.

"Yeah, thats right." he said, smiling.

All of the girls in the room swooned. "Wow," said Amber. "I am SO pleased Mr. Fleming had a heart attack!"

Amber didn't realize what she had said until after she'd said it, when the class started laughing. "Sorry! That didn't come out right..." she said, going beet red and giggling a bit.

"That's quite all right." said Mr. Winkler, winking at her. Amber giggled a bit more.

The truth was, Amber _knew _Mr. Winkler. They had met at one of her father's friend's business parties last year, and they had hit it off quite well. They'd even kissed. That is, until he found out how old Amber was. She had never told anyone about this, other than Joy, who'd told her it was wrong to date someone older than her. Since then, she'd begun dating Mick, but she could never stop thinking about that party with Jason.

And now, here he was, right in front of Amber. She wondered whether he recognized her.

When the bell rang, Amber decided to find out. She walked up to Mr. Winkler's desk.

"Hi." she said cautiously.

"Hello." he said, glancing up at her. Then he did a double take. "Amber?"

"Jason! You recognized me!" Amber squealed happily.

"Yeah, I did. I take it you remember me as well?" he said.

"Of course I do, how could I forget?" said Amber happily.

Jason got up and shut the door. "Look Amber," he said. "We can't do this."

"Can't do what?" Amber asked innocently.

"We can't...be together." he said slowly. "I'm the teacher, your the student. It won't work out."

"Why not?"

"Because..." he paused. "Look Amber, as much as I'd like to be with you, I could lose my job. Or worse."

Amber nodded slowly and then walked out of the room.

What was she thinking, that Jason would suddenly remember, and then agree to go out with her? Anyway, she was dating Mick, so she would have been cheating on him.

She heard her phones ringtone go off and reached for it, figuring it was probably Mick wondering where she was.

She frowned. It was a text from a blocked number.

_You know, Kissing up to the teacher is just an expression...but you take it to a whole new level.  
>-J<em>

Amber gasped. Who could have heard them. Well, anyone could have been standing outside of the door, listening...but would they have been able to pick up what the convorsation was about? And then how it was signed...J. Could it be...Joy?

Fabian eagerly grabbed is biology test out of Mr. Sweet's proferred hand and glanced at it. A+! Yes! He glanced over at Nina, his new friend.

"How'd you do?" he asked her.

"I got a C..." said Nina disappointedly. "How did you do?"

"Er...never mind." he said, quickly hiding is paper as not to make her feel bad. "I can help you before the next test if you want."

She brightened. "Really? Thanks! But how did you do?"

"I got an A..."

Nina smiled at him. "Thats great! Congratulations!"

Fabian smiled back. "Thanks."

He was glad that Nina wasn't one of those people that got mad whenever someone beat them at something. Most people at this school were. But Nina wasn't. Nina was different from everyone else at this school, in a good way. She wasn't so overly smart that she rubbed it in your face and she didn't chatter on for hours and hours about gossip and nail polish, like most girls here did. She was into history, like Fabian, and was rather quiet and shy, like Fabian.

However, Fabian did know one way that they were different: _She _probably didn't have a secret that she'd been trying to hide from her classmates for five years. But Fabian did.

"So...can anyone tell me about Joy?" said Nina. They were at lunch, and all of Anubis house was sitting together. "I mean, whenever somebody mentions her, everyone goes all quiet and changes the topic. And when I first got here, Patricia yelled at me for touching her things."

Fabian stopped eating and stared at the table. Amber and Mara went pale and froze. Alfie and Jerome glanced at each other. Mick continued eating. Patricia played with her food.

"See what I mean? Everybody got all quiet. I'm getting the feeling something bad happened to her, or she did something bad-"

"Joy did absolutely nothing bad! Don't you ever say that again!" Patricia said sharply.

"Hey, Patricia, lay off! She didn't know." said Fabian.

"And it should stay that way." Patricia grumbled.

"No. Nina needs to know. She's a part of this house, Patricia!" said Fabian.

"I agree. We can't continue keeping it a secret like this." said Mara.

"Fine then, who wants to tell her?" Patricia demended.

Nobody spoke.

"Please? Someone?" Nina begged.

Fabian sighed. It was still painful for him to talk about Joy, but he felt that Nina needed to know. "Alright, I will."

"Thanks." said Nina greatfully.

"Well...One night we were playing this game...and we didn't want to play it the way Joy wanted us to...so she left. And she was never seen again." Fabian said, mentally shuddering at them memory.

Nina gasped. "That's horrible!"

Patricia nodded grimly. "She was my best friend."

"But she was also controlling, mean, nosy, abusive-" Jerome started.

"Jerome! Don't talk about her that way!" Patricia said angrily.

"So...She's never been found?" Nina asked.

Fabian shook his head. "Nope."

For some reason, Fabian noticed, Nina looked...frightened.

"What's the matter?" Fabian asked.

"Nothing...It's just a last week I got...nevermind. I should probably get to class." Nina picked up her bag and hurried off.

A few minutes later, Fabian decided that he too should get to class, so he hurried to his locker before the bell for fourth period rang.

When he opened his locker, a piece of paper fell out of it on to the floor. He picked it up, realizing that it was the biology test he had gotten this morning, and began to put it in his locker when he noticed some writing on the back.

_An A+! Nice! Bet Daddy will be proud of you, Fabes. Although, he'd be proud of you for almost anything, considering where he is now... -J_

Fabian gasped as he read the words, written in red ink. Who had written this? And how could anyone possibly know about his father? He'd never told anyone, and the only person that had known was...Joy.

But Joy was gone. Or was she?

* * *

><p><strong>Dunn dunn dunnnnnnn...Hope you guys liked that! Sorry if it was a little slow, the first 2 or 3 chapters will be like that-I just need to get the story going.<br>I realize the part with Amber was kinda weak, but I couldn't think of another way to put it. Also, I know most of you wanted Pason, but I have...other plans for Patricia...Mwahahaha :D  
>Another thing: Each PLL character won't be represented by an HOA character, though there will be some similarities between some of them.<br>**

**REVIEW! Please! The more reviews I get, the sooner the next update will be :) **


	3. When You Least Expect It

_"None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them."_  
>~Charles Caleb Colton<p>

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><p>Patricia groaned when she heard the bell ring as she tore across the lawn, trying unsuccessfully to get to class on time. She had overslept that morning because she had forgotten to set her alarm, and her roommate Nina hadn't bothered to wake her up either.<p>

Suddenly, she felt another person crash into her, and she fell backwards onto the ground, spewing her books everywhere.

"Hey! watch where you're-" she began, but stopped when she saw who she had run into.

It was a boy she had never seen before. He had brown hair and bright blue eyes and was so good-looking that Patricia was temporarily speechless(which was extremely unsusal for her).

"Um...Hi." she mananged.

"Hey." said the boy as he sat up, for he had fallen as well. "Sorry about that."

'It's cool." said Patricia, dusting herself off. "I don't think I've seen you around here before..."

"Yeah, I'm new, today's my first day." said the boy, holding out his hand to help Patricia up. "I'm Lucas."

Patricia gladly accepted his hand and stood up. "I'm Patricia. What house are you in?"

"I'm in Anubis house. Creepy, right? Being in the god of the dead's house..."

"Actually, Osiris was the god of the dead. Anubis was just god of funerals." said Patricia before she could stop herself. "And I'm in Anubis house too."

"Oh, cool! How come I didn't see you this morning when I met everybody?"

"I overslept." said Patricia. "Which is why I'm running late now."

"Ah." said Lucas, nodding. "Speaking of which, we should probably start walking."

"Yeah." Patricia agreed, and they started to walk over to the school. "So who are you rooming with in the house?"

"Errr...I'm not entirely sure what their names are, but one has blonde hair and really athletic and the other has dark brown hair and is really into astronomy."

"Mick and Fabian." said Patricia. "They're really cool, I think you'll like them."

"Cool." he said, smiling. "So, you're into Ancient Egypt?"

"Not really...why?"

"Oh, just because you mentioned it earlier." said Lucas. "You know, about Osiris being the god of the dead."

"Oh. Right." said Patricia. "Well, I know a little bit about it because my roommate, Nina, is like completely obsessed with it."

He chuckled. "Nice. So, is Victor always as mean as he was to me this morning?"

Patricia grimanced and nodded. "Yep, unfortunately. And when he says lights out at ten-he _means _it."

"What happends if we're not in bed at ten?"

"Toilet duty." she said, making a face. When she saw Lucas's confused expression, she added "You'll find out what it is, Alfie will get it sooner or later. He always does."

"Ah. So, you'll have to reintroduce me to everyone. So they know I'm cool." said Lucas, grinning crookedly at her.

Patricia snorted. "Just because I'm showing you to class doesn't mean we're friends."

"Right. It seems to be against the law here to give a person a warm welcome."

"Uh, you got off easy. You should've seen the kind of welcome Nina got." said Patricia, deciding to leave out the fact the _she _was the cause of Nina's less than warm welcome.

Lucas frowned. "Is she the one with long brown hair?" Patricia nodded. "Figures. She was the only one that was actually nice to me. Probably cause she knows how it feels to be a new kid."

Patricia rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll reintroduce you to everyone tonight. Happy?"

He grinned again. "Yeah."

They arrived at the science classroom, where they recieved a detention apiece for being so late. But, Patricia had a sneaky feeling that she and Lucas were going to be fast friends.

As Patricia stood up to leave the science classroom, he phone chimed. Curious to see who was texting her during school hours, she checked it and saw that she had recieved a picture message.

It was a picture of her and Lucas walking over to the school, taken that morning. The message accompanying it read: _Having fun chumming up with the new boy? I bet if he knew what you did to Brianna, he wouldn't want to even go NEAR you. -J_

What the crap? Who took this picture? And what was with the note? Patricia stood there, staring at the screen of her phone in horror for a good twenty seconds. This was NOT happening. How did this person even know about who caused Brianna's accident? The only person who knew about it was...Joy.

But Joy had disappeared. She was gone for good. But...the text was signed _J. _And thats how Joy had signed all of her texts.

_Who is this? _Patricia typed in the reply box. She started to exit the science room when her phone chimed again with a new text message.

_I'm your best friend. And your worst enemy. But If you tell anyone about me I'll hurt you...Or maybe I should hurt a certain new friend instead... You had better watch out-I'll show up when you least expect it. -J_

Patricia froze in her tracks as she read the message. Had J just threatened to hurt her? And Lucas? She quickly turned off her phone and left the classroom, trying to forget what had just happened.

"Hey, Nina, can you give me a hand with this?" Fabian called over to Nina from the other side of the art classroom. He was struggling to balance his canvas in one hand, and his easel in the other.

"Sure!" said Nina, hurrying over and relieving him of his canvas.

The art classroom was on the second floor, and had a door leading out to the balconey, where they were allowed to paint on nice days, like that day. Nina helped Fabian carry his supplies on to the balconey, then went back in to get her own.

She set up her easel next to Fabian's. "So," she said, dipping her paintbrush in the red paint, "What do you think of your new roommate?"

"He seems okay." said Fabian, shrugging and glancing over at Lucas. "Patricia seems to be getting along well with him."

It was true. Patricia hardly ever got along with anyone, and had given him a far warmer welcome than she had given Nina.

"She must like him." said Nina.

"D'you think?" Fabian asked, looking over at Lucas and Patricia again. "He's only been here a few days."

Nina shrugged. "I can just tell."

Alfie and Jerome started messing around with paintbrushes behind them. Jerome knocked into Nina's chair and sent her flying-towards the edge of the balconey. She shrieked, but felt someone's arms wrap around her waist and pull her back before she could fall over the edge.

It was Fabian.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

Nina nodded, gasping for breath. "Thank you." she managed.

"Jerome! Alfie! Detention!" Mrs. Andrews called over to them, having seen what they did. "Are you all right, Nina?"

"Yeah, fine...thanks to Fabian." She said, turning to him and smiling. "I'm pretty sure you just saved my life."

Fabian grinned back. "It was nothing." he said, modestly shrugging his shoulders.

After class was over, Nina went back into the classroom to grab her back. She noticed there was a sticky note stuck to it, and opened it.

_Fabes might have saved you from falling this time Neens, but will he be there when I push you over the edge? -J _

Nina gasped. Another one? Who was this freakish person? It couldn't _actually _be Joy, could it? She had disappeared over a year ago...

Mara glanced over at Mick. He was staring down at his paper and looking utterly bewildered. Good thing she could help with that...

They were in the middle of taking a french test that Mara had tutored Mick for. Mick has worked so, so, hard studying for it, but he just wasn't grasping it. Mara thought that he deserved a good grade, so she pulled out an extra copy of the test, put Mick's name in it, and began filling in the correct answers.

She had done this once before, before Joy had disappeared. Joy had caught her, and told her that it was bad to cheat and try to steal Mick from Amber. She had never outwardly threatened to tell the teachers, but she dropped hints about it into almost every conversation. Mara was surprised that the others hadn't picked up on it.

When the bell rang, Mara walked up to the front of the room with the other students. After Mick put his in, she surruptiously took his out of the pile, and put both of hers down in its place. She ripped Mick's original test into fourths, threw it in the trash can and followed the rest of the class out the door.

But Mara also had ulterior motives for cheating for Mick. She had always liked Mick, and Amber, his girlfriend, had always known it. Amber didn't deserve Mick! They had absolutely nothing in common, and she was so demanding of him, and extremely clingy. Mara knew that Mick was unhappy, though he'd never admit it.

After lunch, Mara stopped at her locker to pick up her maths textbook. When she opened it, a piece of blue paper fell out and fluttered to the ground. She bent over and picked it up.

Mara gasped. _It was one of the pieces of Mick's test that she had ripped up. _She glanced around to make she no one had seen it, and flipped it over.

_Tell me Mara, what is the French word for "cheat?" Because, like I've told you before, cheaters never prosper. -J_

Mara read the words on the back of the paper over and over, to make sure she read them right. _Like I've told you before, _it said, _cheaters never prosper. _

That was what Joy had told her when she caught her cheating last year. She remembered it vividly.

_"So Mara," Joy began, "I found something interesting in our french classroom today."_

_Mara tried to look unalarmed. "Really?"_

_Joy nodded, and pulled four blue scraps of paper out of her bag. Mara gasped. Joy pieced the papers together into Mick's test that Mara had thrown out._

_"And before I found these, I saw YOU turn in TWO tests, and take this one out of the pile and throw it away." said Joy, smiling evilly. "Isn't that odd?"_

_"I-I-" Mara began, trying to think of an explanation._

_Joy's grin widened. "Don't worry Mara, I won't tell. Unless-"_

_"I just totally KILLED Mick at football!" Alfie walked into the room looking excited, followed by Mick looking grumpy. Joy quickly scooped up the pieces of Mick's test before either of them could see fanned them out in her hands like a deck of cards, and began fanning herself off with them. _

_"You didn't KILL me." said Mick grumpily. "And you cheated anyway."_

_Mara glanced nervously at Mick to see if he noticed what Joy was fanning herself with. Luckily, he hadn't. Yet. Mara motioned at Joy for her to put them away, but she just smiled and petended not to notice._

_"Oh Alfie, you shouldn't have cheated." said Joy. "Because cheaters never prosper. Right Mara?"_

Mara shook her head, and shoved the note deep into her locker. It couldn't possibly have been Joy, just someone trying to mess with her. And yet...someone still knew that she cheated. She shut her locker and hurried to maths class, trying to forget the note.

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><p><strong>Sorry if that was a but slow, I just need to get the story going. Oh, and when I said I had other plans for Patricia...It's not what most of you think. This story is rated K+, remember? :**

**And to the anonymous reviewer _g:_ If you...did...not...like...it! so much, then at least sign in and give me suggestions to make it better! And there was no need to be rude. I mean seriously, thats really pathetic that you have to do that. If you truly don't like someone's story, then say it nicely and give them tips to make it better! **

**OK, rant over. A big thank you to everyone that reviewed last time! I'll try to update sooner next time if I get a good amount of reviews, but these past few weeks have been busy-my Aunt was getting married, babysitting, etc. Anyway, my point is, REVIEW! :) xxx**


	4. Rat Me Out

_"People with secrets tend to be drawn to each other, not because they want to share what they know but because they need the company of the like-minded, the fellow afflicted." ~Don DeLillo_

* * *

><p>Alfie stared at the blank document on his laptop screen. There was no WAY he could write a ten page paper on the history of Egypt. Nina and Fabian probably could in a heartbeat, but not him.<p>

There was also another person that could, and that person could get an A+ on it too...In fact, he already had.

That person was Alfie's older brother, Michael. Michael was in college at the moment, and Alfie had gotten his old laptop. Even though Michael was in college, there was still a way he could help Alfie out...

But no. No. Alfie would never go down that road again. He had never felt more guilty in his life when he got that paper back with an A+ written at the top. An A+ he didn't deserve...

_"Alfie, you are completely hopeless!" Joy groaned. She had been trying to help him write his science essay, on a topic he didn't understand._

_"I'm sorry! It's not my fault Mr. Sweet teaches hard stuff!" Alfie protested. He clicked back on to the article he was supposed to write about, but his computor screen froze up and went blank. "And now my computors acting up too! Why did my parents have to make me use Michael's old one? Why couldn't I have gotten a new one too?"_

_Joy stood up slowly. "Wait...Michael's your older brother, right?"_

_"Yeah..." said Alfie suspiciously. "Why?"_

_"Well, are his old documents and school papers still on there?"Joy asked, looking excited._

_"Yeah...why?"_

_"Well, all you have to do is-" She grabbed the laptop, went into documents, opened one labeled 'Tenth grade science essay' and changed the name at the top from 'Michael Lewis' to 'Alfie Lewis'. "-That!"_

_Alfie stared at the computor. "Are you sure that will work? Won't Sweetie remember it?"_

_Joy rolled her eyes. "Please, Sweetie's got to have read thousands of these. He'll never know."_

So Alfie had printed out the paper, turned it in, and gotten an A+ on it.

Now, he stared at his computor screen, unsure what to do. Sighing, he clicked on his email, and saw he had a new message. The sender was a mixture of jumbled letters and numbers. Curious, Alfie opened it.

_Want the easy A? _it read. _I think you know where to find it. Just like last time... -J_

What the-? Had Joy sent this? Afie wouldn't put it past her, she loved messing with people like that. But still...Joy hadn't been seen in a year. And she was the only one who knew about this...at least thats what he thought. But who would Joy have told?

Then it hit him-Patricia. They were best friends, and apparently with girls, best friends were supposed to tell each other everything. He would have to ask Patricia what she knew, and if she sent that email.

Alfie walked into the living room, and saw that Patricia was sitting on the couch, chatting with Lucas. Alfie narrowed his eyes. Was Lucas in on this as well?

"Har har, very funny Patricia." said Alfie as he walked into the room.

"What?" asked Patricia, looking confused.

"You know what I'm talking about." Alfie said.

"No, I really don't." said Patricia, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Lucas.

"The email?"

"What email?"

"The one you sent like two minutes ago!" Alfie was getting frustrated.

"I didn't send an email two minutes ago! I've been sitting here for the past half hour!" said Patricia exasperatedly.

Alfie groaned, and beckoned for her to follow him into the hallway.

"Are you _sure _you haven't sent an email to me in the past five minutes?" he asked once they were out in the hallway.

"I'm positive! Why is this so important?" Patricia demanded.

"Because...well..." Alfie hesitated. "Did Joy ever tell you anything about me? Anything I could get in serious trouble for if it got out?"

Patricia's eyes widened. "No, but did she tell you anything like that about me?"

"No."

"Then why are you asking?"

"Because...Because..." Alfie paused. "Can you keep a secret?"

Patricia nodded, so Alfie continued. "Well...the reason I was asking you about an email was because...I got an email saying something that only Joy could have known about, and it was signed _'J'._ "

Patricia's eyes got even wider. "No way. You got one of those too?"

"You got one?" Alfie was shocked.

Patricia nodded. "Except mine was a text. With a picture, like the person had been stalking me. And then they threatened me."

"Woah." said Alfie. "That's pretty serious."

"I know." Patricia looked troubled.

"D'you think we should...report it?" Alfie asked uncertainly.

"No!" Patricia looked alarmed. "The police would ask what the messages said and...well, let's just say mine could get me in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, you're right." Alfie thought. "Hey, do you think anyone else in the house has gotten these?"

Patricia frowned. "I don't know...maybe."

"Well, we should definetly find out." Alfie said.

"How? What are we supposed to ask, 'Oh, hey I was just wondering if you've gotten any threatening messages lately-'"

"What about threatening messages?" Nina was standing at the top of the steps.

Patricia scowled up at her. "Were you eavesdropping on us, newbie?"

"No, and in case you haven't noticed, your friend Lucas is newer than I am." said Nina, coming down the steps. "So what's this about threatening messages?"

"None of your business!" snapped Patricia. "Go away, leave us alone!"

Alfie watched Nina walk into the living room and sit down next to Fabian, feeling slightly guilty.

"You know, she might have been asking because she was getting threats too." He reasoned.

Patricia scoffed. "Yeah right, she was just being nosy. She didn't even know Joy anyway."

"Fine. But I still think we should tell someone about these messages."

"Who?" Patricia asked. "Who can we trust?"

"Well, not Victor." Alfie joked.

"Obviously." said Patricia, rolling her eyes. "How about Trudy?"

"Yeah, Trudy's okay." agreed Alfie.

"Alright, let me get my phone so she can see the photo."

Patricia hurried up the staircase. A few minutes later, Alfie heard a shriek coming from upsatirs.

"Patricia?" he called cautiously. "Is everything alright?"

Patricia appeared at the top of the steps. Her face was white as a sheet.

"Umm, Alfie? You might want to see this."

Alfie ran up the steps, and into Patricia and Nina's room. When he walked in, Patricia pointed to what looked like a brown lump on her bed. Upon closer inspection, Alfie realized it was a dead rat.

He gasped and jumped backward. "Wha..? What the-"

Wordlessly, Patricia held out a piece of paper. With shaking hands, Alfie took it and read it.

_Rat me out, and your blood's next. -J_

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><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapter and the long wait, I was so busy this week that I didn't get much chance to write. It also takes me a reeeaaalllyy long time to write a chapter, plus I edit and reread it 8345782759827592875 thousand times. I envy you if you can write and publish a chapter in a day :P<strong>

**Anywhoo, I hope you liked it! REVIEW please! :)**


	5. What's To Stop Me?

_"The biggest lie the devil ever told was the beauty and goodness are the same thing"  
>~Daniel Nayeri<em>

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><p>Mara watched Amber and Mick cuddling on the couch, taking a quiz in a magazine. It made her sick, the way Amber called him "Boo" and bossed him around, and made him take stupid magazine quizzes with her and he just sat there at took it. Mick deserved so much better than Amber.<p>

"Mostly A's," Amber was saying. "Which means you're the shy, reserved type-that's hilarious cause it's soo wrong!"

She giggled and Mick gave a short laugh. How did Amber know the quiz was wrong? If it was right, that meant Mara was perfect for Mick! Mara scowled and went back to reading her science magazine(which was much more interesting than the tabloid junk that Amber read, anyway). But no, Princess Amber Millington didn't care that she and Mick weren't right for each other, she only cared that being with him made her popular.

But maybe, when they got their French tests back, Mick would see that Mara was the right one for him, not Amber. Mara actually helped him, and cared about him, unlike Amber.

Unable to stand watching Mick and Amber anymore, Mara left to go over to the school and read in the library.

For some reason, Mara had always liked the library. It was calming and peaceful, not to mention full of books. She had always felt safe and at home there.

The library was deserted today, Mara was the only one there as far as she could tell. She settled in her favorite chair in the back corner, hidden behind shelves, and began to read. But not for long, because after a few minutes, she heard a quiet voice behind her.

"Hey Maraculous." It was Mick. She stood up and turned around, hating herself for blushing.

"Hey Mick. Whats up?"

"I just wanted to thank you for tutoring me in French." he said. "It must have really paid off, because I went to talk to Mrs. Andrews and she said I got an A!"

"Wow Mick, thats great!" said Mara, feeling guiltier by the second. "Congradulations!"

"Its all thanks to you." Mick smiled, and glanced around to make sure no one was watching. He grabbed Mara's hand, pulled her close and kissed her.

Mara was so stunned that for a few seconds, she did nothing. Then she realized what was happening and pulled away.

"Mick! What about Amber?"

"Amber's not here right now, is she?"

Sadly, this was good enough for Mara. She stepped forward, and let him kiss her again.

She was kissing Mick, the funny, athletic boy she had liked since seventh grade. It felt so perfect, so right-

Wait. This was her best friend's boyfriend, and he was only kissing her because he had gotten an A on his French test, which was only because she cheated for him.

Mara pulled away again. Mick looked surprised. Shaking her head, Mara started backing away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I can't do this."

Mara turned and tore out of the library, running as fast as she could. What had she just done?

She had just kissed her best friend's boyfriend, thats what. Should she tell Amber? No, Amber would get mad at her and hate her forever. Even though it was Mick that kissed Mara, not the other way around!

She hurried into the house, went into her bedroom, and shut and locked the door. She laid against it, panting.

What was she going to do? She knew the second she saw Amber, she'd blurt out the truth, and both Amber and Mick would never speak to her again.

"Mara? Are you in there?" She heard Amber's voice coming from the outside. Mara took a deep breath, and unlocked the door.

"Where have you been? And why was the door locked?" Amber asked.

"Oh, er...I was at the library." said Mara, ignoring the last question.

This seemed to be good enough for Amber. "Oh, okay."

Mara wanted to go downstairs and read in tthe living room because Amber was blasting her music, but she didn't want to risk running into Mick, so she stayed in her room and tried to tune Amber and her music out.

But by dinnertime, Mara was getting hungry and she knew she couldn't hide in her room forever, so she went down to dinner, sitting as far away as possible from Mick.

However, after dinner, Mara found she couldn't avoid him when he asked for help with his biology homework.

"Can it wait?" she asked tenatively.

"Er...No." he said, and beckoned her into his room. She followed uncertainly.

"So, what's your question?" she asked.

"About earlier-" he began.

"Look Mick, I don't want to talk about-"

"No Mara, just listen. Please don't tell Amber about it, it didn't mean anything. I was just excited about my A, thats all." said Mick.

"And why shouldn't I tell her?" said Mara angrily. "She deserves to know that her boyfriend is cheating on her."

"I wasn't cheating! It wasn't like that!" said Mick defensively. "And plus, if you do tell her, _I'll _tell her that you kissed me. And who do you think she'll believe?"

Mara froze. Mick was right. Amber would never believe Mara-they may be best friends, but Amber had a habit of choosing boys over Mara.

Mara glared at Mick. "Fine." she said stiffly, and walked out.

As soon as she shut the door to Mick's room, Mara's phone chimed. Assuming it was Amber demading what was going on, she pulled it out and saw that she had a new message.

_Mick's right Maraculous, Amber would never believe you. But, if you tell anyone about me, what's to stop me from showing her this? -J_

Mara gulped and scrolled down to look at the attatchment. Just as she suspected, it was a picture of her and Mick kissing in the library earlier.

She groaned and shut her phone. Whoever this was seemed bent on ruining her life-academically _and _socially.

Amber groaned and rolled her eyes and Alfie made a high-pitched squealing noise and ran around the room. They were supposed to be doing acting excersizes, but Amber was pretty sure Alfie just wanted to run around and make noise.

"Thanks Alfie," said Amber, smacking him with her fashion magazine. "But some of us are here to _learn._" She threw a glowing look at Jason. She had still not given up when he told her that they wouldn't work, and had been flirting with him at every opportunity she got. Amber didn't know if she was imagining it or not, but Jason was sort of flirting back.

"And, what exactly are you supposed to be, Alfie?" Jason asked, and Amber could tell he was avoiding looking at her.

"A mosquito in a spin dryer, isn't it obvious?" replied Alfie, and everyone laughed. Amber looked down and continued reading her magazine.

Jason cleared his throat, and motioned for Alfie to sit down. "And now, on to something a little more serious, Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet." _he handed a copy to Jerome. "Timeless, tragic, tedious."

"See, I knew I was right." Amber whispered to Nina. "There's an article in here that says if your boyfriend isn't paying you enough attention, you have to flirt with someone else to make him jealous."

As she said it, Amber realized it didn't only apply to boyfriends...That's it! To get Jason interested in her, she had to flirt with someone else! But who...?

"Swap please, Amber." said Jason, holding out a copy of _Romeo and Juliet._

"Do I have to, Sir?" Amber said, looking up and smiling flirtatiously.

Jason nodded, so she handed over her magazine in exchange for the book, batting her eyelids as she did so.

"Who wants to come up and try acting out a scene from the play?" Jason asked. A plan formed in Amber's mind, so she raised her hand.

"Alright, come on up Amber. And you too, Alfie." Jason said, beckoning them on to the stage.

Amber walked up on stage, opened her book and read, "Oh, Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if that would not , be sworn by love, and I'll no longer be a capulate."

"Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?" Alfie said, reading his lines.

"Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art...thou art..." Amber paused. Should she do it? "Thou art...truly the yummiest boy I've ever seen, Romeo!"

"What?" asked Alfie, looking surprised.

"That's not in the script, Amber!" said Jason, but Amber's mind was made up. She dropped her book and kissed Alfie on the mouth.

The class started laughing and wolf-whistling. Amber let go of Alfie, who looked as if Christmas had come early. She snuck a glance at Jason. Was that jealousy she detected in his expression? Amber smiled. She hoped so.

She looked around the room, and her eyes fell on Mick. Mick! She had completely forgotten about him! He was scowling. Not a good sign. Amber gave him a sheepish grin, which he did not return. Next to him, Fabian looked outraged, and Jerome said "Wow..."

"Okay Amber, thats enough." said Jason harshly. Yes, he was definetly jealous. _Mission accomplished _Amber thought with a grin.

"Sorry sir, did I do something wrong?" she asked innocently.

Jason frowned. "That wasn't in the script. Sit down."

Amber did as she was told, feeling quite pleased with herself.

"Why did you do that?" Nina whispered when Amber had sat down.

"I needed to make, er-Mick jealous." Amber replied.

Nina frowned at her suspiciously, but turned back to the front.

For the rest of the day, Amber and Mick avoided each other. Amber, because she didn't want to explain why she had kissed Alfie, and she supposed that Mick was avoiding her because he was mad at her.

By suppertime, Amber realized she was going to have to talk to Mick at some point, so she confronted him in the hallway before eating supper.

"Hey, Boo." She said. "I'm really sorry about earlier, I just-"

"Ambs, it's fine." said Mick. Amber was shocked.

"What-what do you-?"

"It's cool, you were just..caught up in acting, I suppose, right?" Mick replied, not meeting her eyes.

"Er...yeah, thats it." said Amber.

"Kay, well, see ya later babes." Mick kissed her cheek and went into his room.

Amber stood there, still processing what had happened. Why had Mick forgiven her so easily? She had barely said sorry, and he had almost looked...guilty.

Amber frowned as her phone chimed. She pulled it out, and opened the message.

_Wondering why Mick forgave you so easily? Go up to the attic tonight after lights out, and I'll give you a hint. -J_

Go up to the attic after lights out to meet a stalker? No way! Amber wasn't _that _stupid.

But, Amber's curiousity got the best of her because that night, as soon as Victor gave his usual pin-dropping speech, she scurried out of her bedroom and went to the attic door.

She tried to turn the knob, but realized it was locked. How on earth was she going to get in now? Amber turned to go back to her room, but stepped on something cold and metal. She directed her flashlight beam to the ground to see what it was.

It was the key! Without giving a second thought to how it got there, she quickly bent down and picked it up, then put in in the keyhole and unlocked the door.

Leaving the door slightly ajar behind her, she crept up the steps as quietly as possible and went up into the attic.

As soon as she reached the top step, Amber heard the attic door slam behind her. She gulped, and sincerely hoped that it wasn't Victor. She cautiosly made her way into the attic.

There was a rustling noise over in the corner. Amber whirled around and pointed her flashlight in the direction of the noise.

"Hello?" she called cautiously.

No response.

A box fell over behind her and she shrieked.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

Amber could sense that she was not alone in the attic, that there was someone else there with her. She picked up a large Cricket bat, and turned slowly on the spot, the bat pointed out, following her flashlight beam.

Suddenly, her flashlight was ripped out of her hand and switched off, making the room pitch black. Amber screamed and started to run towards the door, but a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her backwards, causing her to fall to the ground.

She felt a hand close around her neck. She tried to scream, but no noise came out. She couldn't breathe. Oh no, she was going to die here, by the hands of this-

Suddenly, the hand released her. Amber, massaging her neck, made a break in the direction that she hoped was the steps. Luckily, it was, and Amber scrambled down them as quickly as she could without looking back.

She reached the doorknob, turned it-but it wouldn't open. Amber twisted it again, but still no luck.

The door was locked.

Who had locked the door? And why? But Amber didn't have much time to wonder, because the heard the top step creak-_the person up there was coming after her._

Amber screamed and pounded on the door.

"Help! Please!" she shouted hysterically. "There's someone up there!"

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><p><strong>A cliffhanger! :o I know this chapter was mostly about the AmberMara/Mick drama, but the next chapter will be more about Fabian.(I think :P)**

**This'll probably be the last update before I start school(I start on Monday :( ), and depending on how much homework I get, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up.**

**Okay, so here's the deal with reviews: if you leave me a review that actually gives me feedback(meaning not just "plz continue" or "update" which gives me almost no feedback whatsoever) Then I will review one of your stories, as long as you have one in a fandom that I like. So it's a win-win for both of us. Okay? :)**

**Oh, and I've had so many people asking me for Jara-it's coming, just be patient! I have it all planned out! :)**

**REVIEW! :)**


	6. Three Strikes and You're Out

**Sorry for the late update-homework and writer's block are my immortal enemies xD**

_"Dead, the truth lies with them."  
>~Anonymous <em>

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><p>Mara glanced down at her phone and reread the text for the millionth time.<p>

_Hey Maraculous! I have a little job for you! Tonight, Amber is going to go up into the attic. If you want me to keep your little secret, lock her in, and don't let her out. Or I'll tell everyone. -J_

She _had_ to do this. Or, at least unless she wanted J telling everyone how she cheated for and/or kissed Mick.

Mara glanced down at the key in her hand. She had found it on her bed, with a note attatched to it that read: _You know what to do, Maraculous. Kisses! -J_

She heard Amber go up the stairs to the attic. Quietly, Mara walked to the door and shut it, and put the key in the lock and turned it.

She stepped back from the door, feeling extremely guilty and praying that Amber would be alright up there. Mara turned to go back to her room before Victor could catch her, but all of a sudden, she heard a scream coming from the attic. _Amber!_

Mara ran back to the door. What was up there? Were they hurting Amber? Should she open the door?

No! She couldn't! J would tell Amber about Mara and Mick. But-

Wait. This was Amber she was thinking about. She had probably just seen a spider. Mara relaxed, and started to go back to her room.

She heard the doorknob turn-Amber was trying to get out. Mara kept walking down the hallway, until she heard Amber's voice.

"Help! Please! There's someone up there!"

Mara froze. _There's someone up there? _She ran back to the attic door and quickly unlocked it.

Amber stumbled out, and shut the door behind her. Shaking, she leaned against it. Her face was white as she sheet, her eyes were wide and her breating was heavy.

"Amber! What's the matter?" Mara asked. "What were you doing up there?"

Amber gasped for breath, massaging her neck. She was silent for a few seconds. "Someone was up there!" she choked out finally. "Someone tried to kill me!"

Mara's eyes widened. "What? Who?"

Amber shook her head. "I don't know. I couldn't see, it was all dark."

"Why did you go up there in the first place?"

Amber bit her lip. "Uhh...I was...I lost an earring up there. And I was looking for it."

"Oh...kay?" Mara said, confused.

Amber studied Mara. "Why were _you_ out of bed?" she asked. "And where did you get that key?"

"I...I heard noise, so I came out to see what it was." Mara lied. "And...I found the key on the floor."

Amber studied her for a moment, clearly suspicious. Finally she shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever. Thanks for unlocking the door."

Amber turned and walked back to their bedroom. Mara however, peered into the open attic door. What was up there? Why had it tried to hurt Amber? And why had Amber gone up there in the first place?

A few seconds later, curiousity got the best of her and she crept up into the attic, making sure she had the key with her.

There, sitting in the center of the attic was a flashlight that Amber must have left. It was switched on, and pointed at the ceiling.

Mara's phone vibrated again, making her jump badly. She took it out of her robe pocket and opened the text.

_You didn't do what I asked, Mara. This is strike one. -J_

Mara jumped again, and almost dropped her phone. She glanced to the ceiling, where the flashlight beam was pointing, and almost screamed.

Written on the lens of the flashlight, making them reflect on the ceiling, in black marker were the words: _THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT!_

_~.~.~_

"And she hasn't been seen since." Patricia concluded, tossing the rest of her apple into the pond. She and Lucas had gone on a walk, and they were just passing the pond by the woods. Patricia had just finished telling Lucas about what happened to Joy, because she decided that he should know since he was living in the house.

"Wow." said Lucas softly, looking at Patricia. "I'm sorry."

Patricia shrugged and kept walking. Lucas being sorry didn't change the fact that her best friend had been missing for over a year now.

"So they never found any clues as to what happened?"

Patricia shook her head. "Nothing. And the police questioned every student and teacher at the school, and even some of the parents. Victor was almost fired for not keeping a better eye on us that night."

"Do you think she's-"

"She's _not_ dead, if that's what you're asking." said Patricia coldly. "She's still alive somewhere. I know it."

Lucas said nothing, and they walked in silence for a few minutes. Patricia glanced to her left and saw the tree where the Brianna Thing had happened, with it's still-blackened bark, and leafless branches. She shuddered inwardly and turned back to Lucas.

"You ready to go back?"

He nodded. "You go ahead. I want to walk around a bit more, I'll be in soon."

"Alright, but Trudy's making spaghetti, so don't be in too late or else Alfie'll eat it all." she joked, turning to go back to the house.

She trudged back inside the house, and kicked off her combat boots and flopped on her bed as soon as she entered her room.

Had she done the right thing, telling Lucas about Joy? Could she trust him? Well, Nina knew, and she wasn't so sure she could trust _her... _

She absentmindedly glanced out her window, and saw something that caught her eye. It was Lucas-he was standing next to the Brianna tree, running his hands along the burnt bark.

Patricia frowned. Why was he doing that? Did he know something about that night? But how could he? He was from...wait. With a jolt, Patricia realized she didn't even know where Lucas was from. He didn't have an accent, so he must be from around there...But if he was from around there, wouldn't he have known about Joy?

Patricia watched as Lucas walked away from the tree, and started towards the house. She'd have to keep an eye on him.

The following afternoon, Patricia stayed after school with Lucas to work on their biology project. Trying to find out more about him, she'd be asking him questions, which, to her frustration, he was answering tersely and then changing the subject.

Finally, she managed to get an answer out of him. Or, rather, she found it out herself.

Lucas was going through his bag, and when he pulled out a binder a folder fell out. Patricia reached down to retrieve it for him.

"'London Day School'" she read off the folder. "Is this your old school?"

"Yep." Lucas replied, shuffling through his binder.

"So you used to live in London?"

"Er...sort of." he replied. "Hey, can you help me with-"

"What do you mean, 'sort of?'" Patricia cut him off before he changed the subject again.

"It's complicated." he said evaisively, then changed the subject back to biology.

Finally, Patricia gave up and decided to head back to the house. She didn't know what to make of Lucas being so secretive- she'd heard of people putting up walls, but this was ridiculous.

She entered the house and was surprised to find everyone in the living room, all looking very distressed. Amber had tears running down her cheeks, and Mick was comforting her, looking very white-faced and upset. Fabian had his face in his hands, and Trudy was patting his shoulders, tears filling her eyes. Mara was sitting next to Fabian, crying quietly. Alfie was sitting alone, looking uncharacteristically somber, Jerome was pacing, and Nina was standing off to the side, looking as though she didn't know quite what to do.

"Hey...what's going on?" I asked as I walked into the room.

Nobody said anything.

"Hello? Why's everyone so upset?" I asked again.

"Well...they found Joy." said Mara, her voice breaking as she burst into tears again.

Wait...whaaaat? "Why are you all so upset? That's great news! Where is she?"

Silence.

"Patricia, love." Trudy said finally, walking over to her. "They...they found her body."

Time seemed to slow down. Patricia slowly staggered backwards and slammed into the wall. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't. All this time, she was sure Joy had been alive.

"No...it's not...not...possible..." She stammered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Her ears were ringing, her vision was clouding, and her brain wasn't processing anything besides the fact that her best friend had just been found dead. She sank down against the wall, and everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, Joy is dead. Cue the action to start...now :D<strong>

**I know I promised Fabian in this chapter, but that didn't work out, but he'll be in the next chapter! Promise :)**

**Oh, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Lucas is an OC. I know there's a Lucas on PLL, but I didn't realize that until I started writing, and it was weird to change his name. So yeah.**

**I have the rest of the story planned out, so hopefully updates will be quicker! I apologize again for taking so long, the time has just slipped away from me!**

**Also, R&R my other story, House of Hogwarts. It's an HP/HOA crossover, and I just posted the second to last chapter ( D: ) so check that out too! And review it, pretty please? :)**

**Sooo...you know what to do. REVIEW! Let's see, I want... at least 10, and I'll try to update as quickly as possible. If not, then I'll take my time and there won't be another chapter till, like Christmas. REVIEW! :)**


	7. Roses are Red

_A friend who dies, it's something of you that dies.  
><em>-_Gustave Flaubert_

* * *

><p>"Fabian. FABIAN. Hey, I'm talking to you, can you hear me?"<p>

With a start, Fabian turned from his desk and saw Nina standing in the doorway.

"Oh." he replied. "Hi. What's up?"

She walked into the room and sat down next to him on his bed.

"Are you alright? You've been acting...odd lately."

It was true. Fabian had been keeping his distance from the others ever since they had heard the news about Joy. He'd been keeping to his room, emerging only for meals since lessons had been cancelled for the week out of respect for Joy.

He would spend the day lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about his last memories of Joy. How she'd fallen on him. And how he'd slipped that note into her bag. He wondered for hours on end if she'd ever read that note.

And now he'd never know. His secrets had died with her.

At least, that's what he'd thought until he'd gotten that creepy note a few weeks ago. Could whoever it was actually know about his father? But how? Joy hadn't told anyone...Or so he thought.

"Fabian! You in there?" said Nina again, interrupting his thoughts.

"Wha-yeah, yeah, I'm fine." he said, not meeting her eyes.

Nina watched him suspiciously for a moment, then her expression softened to sympathy.

"I'm sorry." she said softly, lightly placing her hand on his. Her touch sent shivers up Fabian's spine. "I know you and Joy were close, so it must be really hard on you."

Fabian looked away, saying nothing.

"But I just don't think it's good for you to stay shut up in here." she continued, gesturing around the room. "You can talk to to us, and to me, you know. If you talk to everyone, it might make you feel better. They're going through the same thing you are."

"You don't understand." said Fabian quietly, his eyes stinging with tears. No, she didn't understand at all. She and the others had no idea what he was going through.

"Well then help me to." said Nina.

He sighed. "I can't. You _wouldn't _understand."

"Try me."

Fabian looked at her and saw that she was being serious.

"I loved her." he said simply.

It was the first time he'd ever admitted that to anyone-except Joy herself, in a letter that he was not sure whether she'd read or not. It felt good to finally let that out, and he felt a tad better.

"Oh, Fabian." said Nina softly. "I'm so sorry."

She gently squeezed his hand, and he took a shuddering breath. They were silent for a few moments.

"Well, her funeral is tomorrow." said Nina tenatively. "Maybe then you'll be able to get some closure."

"Yeah." he sighed. "Can you...Do you mind...not telling anyone about this?"

"Of course, I'd never do that!" said Nina, smiling kindly at him. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks." Fabian smiled back, his first real smile in a week. It felt good to finally tell someone something he'd kept bottled up inside him for over a year. It was the first time he'd opened up this much to someone since, well, Joy. And he'd never told her what he'd just told Nina. However, he _had_ told her another secret that someone was now holding over his head...

"Well, you ready to come to dinner?" Nina asked, standing up.

"In a minute..." he replied, his gaze drifting towards the open window. He just needed a few more minutes alone.

"Okay." said Nina. She reached out and squeezed his hand again. "I'm always here if you need to talk."

Fabian looked at her, and smiled again, wishing he could tell her how much that meant to him. "Thank you." he said softly.

She smiled back at him and left the room, leaving Fabian with his thoughts.

**~.~.~.~**

Nina shut the door to Fabian's room and walked into the dining room, where the rest of the house had already started eating.

"Nina!" Trudy called from the kitchen. "Something just arrived for you."

She was holding out a red rose with a creme colored card attatched to it. Nina narrowed her eyes suspiciously in Alfie and Jerome's direction, but they were too busy talking to Amber and Patricia to notice.

"Have a secret admirerer?" Trudy said teasingly.

"Maybe." Nina said, laughing a little at the thought. It was more likely that it was sent by the two pranksters in the next room, but she didn't say anything.

Trudy handed her the rose, and she opened the card. Her eyes widened in horror.

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue._

_Stay away from my Fabian_

_Or I will hurt you._

_-J_

Nina's breath caught in her throat as she dropped the rose and dashed away.

"Nina, sweetie, you dropped your rose!" Trudy called after her, but she ran straight into her room, shutting the door behind her.

She slid down with her back against the door, panting. That was twice that this J person had threatened her. It couldn't be Joy-Joy was dead, right? She thought the notes would have stopped by now...

But something else about the note didn't make sense. _My_ Fabian? But Fabian had just said he loved her, not that they had been dating...Unless Fabian wasn't telling her something.

Something else occured to her, and she ran back downstairs.

"Trudy," she panted. "when did that arrive?"

"Oh, just a few minutes ago." Trudy replied, stirring something in a pot. "It was pushed through the mail slot."

Nina blanched.

"Do you want it, sweetie? You seemed to have dropped it." Trudy held the rose out to her.

Nina rapidly shook her head. "N-no, it's okay, thanks Trudy."

She backed away out into the entryway. So, whoever J was had been watching her and Fabian...Or they could have been listening outside the door, and pushed the rose in the mail slot from the inside.

She glanced in the dining room and her housemates, laughing and goofing off. Could J really be one of them?

**~.~.~.~**

The following morning, the residents of Anubis house walked silently down the sidewalk of the town nearby the school towards the funeral home, clad in black, funeral-appropriate attire.

Nina walked next to Fabian, who had not said a word since they left the house. His face was unreadable. She reached out and gently squeezed his hand, and he gave her the tiniest smile.

"Well, it's a beautiful day for it, isn't it?" Trudy said, breaking the silence. Nina and Mara nodded absentmindedly, but no one else made any sign that they had heard what Trudy said. Nina knew that Trudy had been fond of Joy, and that she was just trying to break the tension.

They arrived at the funeral home just as people were starting to sit down. A little ways into the church, they saw Mrs. Mercer-Joy's mother.

"Oh, it's so good to see you all!" she said tearfully. "Joy would be so happy to know-to know that you were all here today."

They nodded solemnly, and Mrs. Mercer gave all of them a hug, including Nina, who introduced herself.

"I'm Nina." she said, shaking Mrs. Mercer's hand. "I just arrived a month ago from America."

"Good to meet you Nina." said Mrs. Mercer. "It's so kind of you to come."

The students took their seats in the front row, where Mrs. Mercer had saved them. A man dressed in black walked up to the front of the funeral home and the church became silent.

The man talked about Joy for a little while, saying how she was good, kind and wonderful person and how much she'd be missed. Nina looked around at her classmates, who were watching the man in black, stoney-faced. All except for Patricia, who was sitting next to Nina, her face in her hands.

Nina felt a wave of sorrow for Patricia-She'd just lost her best friend. Glancing around at the rest of her classmates again, she realized they'd _all_ lost a friend. They'd all been somehow connected with Joy, yet J was targeting her, when she'd never met Joy...It just didn't make sense.

After the funeral was over, Nina and everyone else waited outside the funeral home for Trudy to walk them home. Nobody spoke, just watch everyone else spill outside the building.

Just then, Nina felt her phone vibrate in her coat pocket. She heard Jerome's give a _ding! _and Patricia's beep. Hands shaking, all nine of them pulled out their phones.

_Did you really think I was gone? Puh-leeze. I've been watching you this whole time. In fact, I might be watching you right now! And if you tell anyone about me-you'll be sorry. I'm still here, and I know everything. -J_

The students glanced at each other nervously. They were quite sure they'd all gotten the same message, and they were all also wondering the same questions-_What did they do? Do they know what I did?_

* * *

><p>Erg erg erg I'm so terribly sorry for the late update, but this story has been giving me a bit of trouble. But, I have the rest of it pretty much planned out, so hopefully it'll flow a bit smoother. I know this chapter totally wasn't the best, but I have big things in mind for the next one :3<p>

Oh, and please don't get mad because Fabian said he loved Joy, even _I_ could tell they had feeling for each other from that first scene with them in it, and I'm a hardcore Nina/Fabian shipper.

A quick question: Just out of curiousity, how many of you have read the PLL books, and how many of you watch the TV show? I've read the books and I watch the show too, so this'll be somewhat similar to both. I'm just wondering :)

Again, sorry for the late update, but still review! I pinkie promise I'll have the next chapter up soon if you guys review :)


	8. Don't Trust Me? Smart

_Sorry about the long wait! I've had TONS of schoolwork and writer's block. But, the good news is, I have the next few chapters planned out so hopefully updates will be quicker from now on. _

_Okay, one **important **thing you should know before reading this: Lucas switched houses, and he's no longer at Anubis house. He'll come back later in the story, though ;)_

_On with the chapter!_

* * *

><p><em>"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."<br>-Benjamin Franklin _

* * *

><p>Patricia looked up from her phone with shaking hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a farmiliar figure standing a few feet away from the group.<p>

Brianna.

Patricia froze, and looked around at her classmates to see if anyone else had noticed-they hadn't. She glanced back at Brianna. Brianna was looking at her strangely, almost...smiling?

Why was _she_ here, anyway? Granted, she probably had no idea that it had been Patricia and Joy that caused her to have those burns all over her, but still...Brianna had hated Joy.

"I want to leave." Patricia said. They way Brianna was looking at them made her nervous.

"Yes, we should probably be getting back to the school by now." said Trudy, checking her watch. "Mr. Sweet said that you're all excused from classes for the rest of the day."

Everyone nodded, and started walking towards the house. Patricia saw Nina grab Fabian's hand and give it a squeeze, and Fabian smiled at her. Patricia glared at them. Joy should have been the one squeezing Fabian's hand, not Nina. Nina was just trying to take Joy's place, and Patricia couldn't believe Fabian couldn't see that himself.

"Hey." She turned and saw Mara standing next to her. "Are you alright?"

Patricia shrugged, not meeting her eye. What did she expect, wonderful?

"Patricia, if you ever need anything, you can always talk to us." Nina glanced around. "Or any of you. We should trust each other, and we can get through this."

Patricia saw Fabian open his mouth-probably to agree-but at that moment, she snapped.

"First of all," she rounded on Nina. "What do _you _have to get through? You've never even met Joy, much less been friends with her. Stop acting like you know how we feel, because you have no idea!"

She was shouting at this point. Nina opened her mouth in shock, but Patricia plowed on. "You're trying to take Joy's place, but you _never _will! Joy should have been the one grabbing Fabian's hand! Joy should still be my roommate! Stop trying to comfort us, especially since you have NO idea what the hell you're talking about!"

Patricia paused, breathing heavily. "How can all of you just stand here and let her do this?" she demanded of the others, who were staring at her in shock. "Can't you see what she's trying to do? She's trying to replace Joy, and you all are just letting her, acting as though she never existed-especially you, Fabian!"

Everyone stared at her, dumbfounded. "What's the matter with you all?" Rolling her eyes, she turned back to Nina. "How _dare_ try to take Joy's place? I don't want to share a room with you, I don't want to be in the same house as you, I don't even want to _look _at you ever again!" Tears of anger and frustration were pouring down Patricia's cheeks. "I can guarentee that every single on of us would rather have Joy here than you! So , give it up, newbie!"

And with that, Patricia ran off in the direction of the woods, leaving her stunned housemates behind her.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Patricia walked along the stream in the woods, feeling only slightly ashamed of her outburst at her classmates. Though they shouldn't be so trusting of Nina, she still felt bad about some of the things she'd said to her.<p>

She came to a clearing in the trees, and sat down on the edge of the stream, dipping her toes in the cool water. The edge of her black dress that she'd worn to the funeral dipped in a little bit, but she didn't care. She just needed some time to think.

Ever since she'd found out that Joy was indeed dead, and Lucas had switched houses, she'd felt more alone than ever. She was carrying a huge secret on her back that no one else but Joy had known about-or so she thought. Judging by the texts from "J" that she'd recieved, apparently someone else knew about it too.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud cracking of twigs coming from behind her. She jumped up and spun around.

"Who's there?" she called.

There was more cracking, and a man stepped out from the trees into the clearing. He had grayish brown hair, a long nose and a rather tan conplexion. He looked...farmiliar.

Patricia eyed him suspiciously. "Who are you? What do you want? You know this is school property, you're not allowed to be here."

"Patricia." the man said, walking toward her with his hand extended. "I-"

"Get away from me!" Patricia shrieked. Grabbing her shoes, she dashed away from the strange man and back into the forest. She had no idea who he was, but she didn't want to take the risk of talking to him in case he was dangerous.

Her bare feet scraped against sticks and rocks on the forest floor, but she kept running. It felt almost...satisfying, to run this much. Like she was letting out anger.

She slowed to a walk at the edge of the trees. Her feet were cut and bleeding, but she was shaking so badly that she could hardly feel them.

Who was that man? And what did he want with her? How did he know her name? And why did he look so farmiliar? Patricia's head was spinning as she bent down to put on her shoes.

She straightened up, and noticed something in the distance that made her shiver. It was the burnt tree...the burnt tree where the Brianna incident had happened.

Joy and Brianna had had a rivalry dating back to grade school. But, in seventh grade when Brianna beat Joy in the grade representative elections, that had been the final straw for Joy.

_Joy giggled shrilly and peeked out from behind the bushes. "What a freak!" she whispered to Patricia, who grinned in agreement. They watched as Brianna climbed up the tree, took a book out of her bag and started to read._

_"Who reads in a tree?" Patricia snickered._

_"_Such _a nerd." Joy rolled her eyes. "The only reason she beat me in elections was because she was a teacher's pet. But now, we're about to teach her a little lesson...Cross me, and you get burned!"_

_Patricia grinned. "Let's do it." she said._

Patricia shut her eyes and leant her head back against a tree. What happened after was one of Patricia's biggest regrets. They'd taken out matches, set the dry leaves under the tree on fire and ran away, thinking it was harmless and they'd gotten away with it. The next morning, however, they found out that the leaves had caught the tree on fire, and Brianna had been unable to escape until the fire department came. By that time, she had gotten many third degree burns, all of which would leave scars.

They hadn't meant it to go as far as it did, and yet...it still had. Now, thanks to Joy and Patricia, Brianna had burns all over her for the rest of her life.

Patricia sat up suddenly. What if Brianna had seen them run away from the tree that night, and she was the one who'd sent the texts? Or worse...the one that killed Joy? Had she wanted revenge that badly? Patricia shivered. Joy may have done some awful things to her, but she'd never want to kill her...

Gingerly, Patricia ran her hand along the blackened bark of the tree. She had no idea why the school hadn't removed it yet, but she hoped they would.

A loud, high-pitched giggle sounded from the forest. Patricia whirled around, and could've sworn she saw a flash of brown hair disappearing through the trees.

* * *

><p>As soon as they arrived back at the House, Nina went straight into her room, not saying a word to the others. The walk back after Patricia's outburst had been virtually silent, and there was a feeling of awkwardness in the air. She needed to be alone for a while.<p>

Thankfully, Patricia hadn't yet returned so Nina had the room all to herself. She sank down on to her bed, and began to sob.

Did all her classmates really hate her? Or just Patricia? And _why_ did Patricia hate her? She'd never done anything wrong! What did Patricia find so untrustworthy about her?

Maybe she should just go back home. Back to America, and forget that the past month had ever happened. The J person would leave her alone. She wouldn't have to put up with Patricia's snottiness. She didn't even deserve her scholarship anyway...she couldn't live with the guilt of that for much longer.

She started to reach for the phone and dial her Gran's number.

But something held her back. _Fabian._ She remembered her promise to him, that she'd be there for him, and she couldn't be if she was in America, trying to forget he and everyone else even existed. She supposed that as long as she had Fabian to back her up, she could stay.

"Hey." said a voice from the doorway. Nina looked up-it was Fabian himself.

"Hi." she said quietly, looking back down at the phone in her hand.

"May I come in?"

She nodded, and Fabian sat down next to her on the bed. He studied her for a moment, evidently noticing the tear tracks on her cheeks because he said, "Are you alright?"

"I should be the one asking you that question." Nina sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For coming here and making everyone miserable. I should have realized that I don't belong here, especially since-" she stopped dead. "-since...never mind. But I was just about to call my Gran and tell her I'm coming back home."

"Nina, what are you talking about?" he asked, looking confused.

"Patricia was right, you guys are better off without me." she said, tears threatening to spill out from her eyes once more.

"No, Nina, that's not true." he said, gently grabbing her wrist to stop her from reaching the phone. "Patricia was way out of line. I think she was just upset about Joy and taking it out on you."

"That doesn't mean it wasn't true."

"Well, maybe Patricia feels that way, but I-the rest of us don't. Don't pay attention to anything she said, we love having you here." he said. "Leaving would just make things worse."

"Really?" Nina glanced up at him rather shyly.

"Definetly." he said, dropping her wrist. "And plus, Patricia'll get over it."

"I suppose." she gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Fabian squeezed her hand in response. Nina could've sworn she felt sparks of electricity pass between them when their hands touched. Perhaps Fabian felt it too, because he let go of her hand rather quickly and looked down.

This reminded Nina of who's funeral they'd just attended, and what she'd been to Fabian.

"Are _you _alright?" she asked him. "It must have been hard this morning."

Fabian took a deep breath. "Yeah, it was." he mumbled, seeming suddenly fascinated by the patterns on the bedspread. "But, it actually made me feel...better. In a way..."

"Like you actually got to say goodbye to her?"

"Yeah. Exactly." he looked back up at her. "And thanks for...being there for me. Before and after it."

Nina smiled at him. "Hey, what are friends for?"

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Nina and the rest of the house (minus Patricia, who was hiding in her room and refused to come out) were sitting around the dining room table, playing cards and waiting for dinner to be ready. They'd decided they should do something to take their minds off the last few weeks, and this was working wonderfully.<p>

"I give up!" Amber giggled, as she threw her cards down on the table. Everyone laughed. "This is too confusing!"

"Well, dinner's ready anyway." Trudy said, coming in holding a platter.

Nina felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out to check, figuring it was her Gran or one of her American friends-she was sadly mistaken.

_Hey Nina, If you want a clue about what happened to me, check by the abandoned warehouse in the woods. Oh, and you might want to bring Patricia along. -J_

Nina looked up from the phone, eyes wide. Fabian watched her curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Wha-nothing." she said, dropping her phone into her lap.

"Will somebody be a love and go fetch Patricia for me?" Trudy asked.

"I'll do it!" Nina jumped up. The others looked at her strangely, but she hurried out of the room.

Abandoned warehoue by the woods? What warehouse? And by what happened to them, did they mean what happened to...Joy? As in how she died? And why should she bring Patricia? It could be dangerous, she didn't want to put her and Patricia's lives at risk...

Her phone screen lit up with another new text message.

_Don't trust me? Smart. But this time, I can guarentee you'll find something important. -J_

Nina sucked in a breath. If J was telling the truth, which was unlikely but possible, they might find something that will help them figure out what happened to Joy. If J wasn't telling the truth, then...

She decided to show Patricia to see what she thought-if Patricia didn't maul her first. She walked up the stairs and knocked quietly on the door.

"Patricia...er, may I come in?" She asked tenatively.

"Go away!" Came a muffled voice from inside the room.

"It's my room too!" Nina opened the door and came inside. Patricia was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She looked over at Nina and scowled.

"What do _you_ want?"

"To show you something." Nina sat down next to her on the bed. "I got these a few minutes ago." she held out her phone and showed her the texts from J. "What do you think?"

Patricia squinted at the screen, and sat up suddenly. "Come on, let's go."

"Where?"

"To the carnival!" she said sarcastically. "No, the abandoned warehouse of course! Where else?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nina asked as Patricia started to pull her boots on. "I mean, this person could be dangerous."

"But, they could also give us a hint about what happened to Joy." Patricia straightened up. "You ready?"

"I guess..." Nina reached for her coat. "You know where this warehouse place is, right?"

"Of course! I've been there loads of times, come on!"

Nina followed Patricia out of the room and downstairs into the kitchen.

"We're going on a walk." Patricia told Trudy. The others stared at them in shock.

"Why?" Trudy asked. "It's getting dark, and you're missing dinner."

"We'll eat it later, right Nina?" Nina nodded.

"Well...I suppose...but don't go to far! And don't be out long!" Trudy said.

"Don't worry!" Patricia said. Nina took a last glance at her confused classmate's faces, and followed Patricia out of the house.

The air was chilly, and the sun was beginning to set. Nina shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her.

"So..." she began. "You've gotten notes from J before the funeral?"

"Doesn't matter, keep walking." Patricia snapped, increasing her already fast pace.

"Ooh-kay." Nina muttered, and struggled to keep up with Patricia's stride.

They walked across the grounds and into the woods. It seemed even darker under the cover of the trees, and Nina felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck as though someone was watching her.

"How much farther?" she asked Patricia.

"Stop complaining, we're almost there." was the response.

With difficulty, Nina resisted rolling her eyes.

After walking a quater of a mile, they came to a clearing with a dirt road.

"Not much farther now..." Patricia muttered, walking along the road with Nina following close behind her.

Eventually, the road ended out with what, at first glance, looked like a farmhouse, but closer up, Nina could tell was a warehouse. Patricia walked up to it and looked around. "What are we supposed to find here?" She walked around to the other side of the house, but instantly drew back.

"What's wrong?" Nina asked. She peeked around the side of the house and blanched. There was a huge hole in the ground with caution tape all around it. Sucking in a breath, she came back around to Patricia.

Patricia started shaking violently. "Is that-do you think-? I mean, they found her in the woods..."

"I don't know." she shivered. "Come on, let's check inside."

With difficulty, Nina managed to pry the door of the warehouse open and stepped inside. The walls were a dank grey, and it smelled strongly of mildew. There were piles of boxes and chairs all around, covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Come on," she said, gesturing to Patricia. "Let's find what we're looking for and get out."

But they needn't have looked hard-there, sitting on top of one of the boxes, was something that made Patricia shout.

"It's her friendship bracelet!" she said, lifting the string bracelet off the box. "We made these when we were eleven, I have a matching one, see-" she rolled back her sleeve, and sure enough, tied to her wrist was a matching purple bracelet.

Nina frowned. "But how did it get here?"

"I-I dunno." Patricia shook her head, mystified. "And why would it be a clue about what happened to her?"

"No idea. Let's get out of here, Trudy's probably getting worried." Nina started to leave, but Patricia grabbed her arm.

"Wait. I want to look around a bit more." Nina nodded, and they turned back to the cluttered boxes, Patricia still clutching the bracelet.

Just as Patricia opened the first one up, the two heard a load creaking sound, and spun around just in time to see the door slamming shut. There was a loud _click!_ as the bolt slid into place.

Nina and Patricia looked at each other in terror.

"Who did that?" Nina whispered, frozen. "Did you see."

Patricia shook her head. "No, but-" she hurried over to the barred window and peered through it. "I don't see anyone."

Nina gulped. "Then I guess we're stuck here."

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, you probably could have predicted that was going to happen...oh well. So. Was it worth the wait?<em>

_Oh, and what do you all in the U. S. think of season 2 so far? I won't as anything spoiler-ish in case you live outside the U. S., but my thoughts after last night's episode...MY BBYS! NO! WHY WOULD YOU SPLIT UP? JUST GET MARRIED ALREADY! D: I added that scene with Fabian and Nina purely because I needed some Fabina in my life after that episode. :( But what did you guys think?_

_Also...I'm probably going to change my pen name soon. Just a warning so you don't get confused. :)_

_Review? Please? I know it's been a while, but this chapter was extra long...Let me know what you thought of it! xxx_


	9. Hot and Cold

_"Funny when you're dead, how people start listening..."_

-The Band Perry

* * *

><p>Fabian paced restlessly around the living room, the sky outside growing darker by the minute.<p>

"Where are they?" he demanded of Amber, who was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. "How long of a walk are they taking? They've missed dinner!"

"Maybe they walked into town?" Amber suggested halfheartedly, closing the magazine.

"No, no, they would have called Trudy and told her." Fabian said. "I'm just...worried about them."

"Yeah...Hopefully Patricia didn't hurt Nina or anything..."

"She wouldn't do that...I don't think." Fabian stopped pacing and ran his finger through his hair. "Let's hope they just took a really long walk and will be back any minute."

He sank down on the couch next to Amber, who resumed reading her magazine.

An hour later, however, it was completely dark out and neither Patricia nor Nina had returned to the house. Fabian, having continued pacing, stopped next to the window.

"What should we do? Trudy's gone to bed early...Should we go look for them?"

"Uh, no way." said Amber. "It's pitch black out there. You never know what kind of...creatures, or crazy people could be out. I'm staying here."

"Amber," said Fabian. "Patricia and Nina could be in trouble. We have to find them!"

"Yeah, and we could be in trouble too if we sneak out." she replied. "It's almost ten o'clock, anyway-"

"Amber! I mean _real_ trouble!" Fabian said agitatedly. "As in, danger."

"Oh." said Amber, her forhead creasing. She sighed. "Okay, I'll go look for them with you..."

"Great, get your coat and meet me down here in five minutes." Fabian told her. She nodded and hurried upstairs.

Fabian walked in his room, grabbed his coat and went back into the living room to wait for Amber.

He felt a cool breeze wash over him as soon as he walked in. He frowned, and looked over at the window. It was agape, and the telescope was no longer in it's usual spot in the corner, but sticking out the window. Fabian frowned and went over to find out what whoever had done it was looking at.

He put his eye to the lens, and noticed immediately that something was odd. There were black lines scrawled all over the lenses, so it was almost impossible to see out of. Fabian thought this was just one of Alfie or Jerome's antics-until he pointed it towards the full moon, and saw that the lines were actually writing.

_Twinke, twinkle, little star. How I wonder where Nina and Patricia are...  
>-J<em>

Fabian put his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from shouting out. Shaking, he put his eye back to the lens and re-read the message. Did that mean that J had or knew where Nina and Patricia were?

Amber walked into the room, holding a pink coat. "What's the matter?" she asked, noticing Fabian's white face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"This-this J person has Nina and Patricia!" said Fabian in a frantic whisper, as not to wake Victor.

"What?"

He gestured at the telescope, and Amber put her eye to it. She drew back almost immidiately, an expression of horror upon her face.

"Right, let's go." she said, and she and Fabian hurried out the door into the chilly night air.

"Where should we start?" Fabian asked Amber as they crossed the moonlit grounds.

"The forest?" she suggested. Fabian nodded, so the headed in that direction.

As the walked, a thought occured to Fabian.

"J was in the house." he said. "They had to have been, to move the telescope."

"Well, they could've done it and left before you came back, right? I mean, the window was open." Amber said.

"I guess...but they were in the house at some point in time." Fabian said as they entered the forest. He checked his watch and saw that it was almost ten-thirty. Nina and Patricia had been missing for almost five hours. "Let's speed up a bit, shall we?" he broke into a run, and Amber did the same.

Once they were deeper into the woods, Fabian thought it was safe to start shouting. "Nina! Patricia!" he called, slowing to a walk.

"Fabian?" Amber panted, falling into step beside him. "There's something you should know."

"Yeah?"

"Well-" she doubled over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. "One, I hate running. And two...a few weeks ago, J baited me into coming into the attic. I went, and...they almost strangled me."

Fabian let out a gasp.

"So...If J really does have Patricia and Nina," Amber continued. "They...they probably really are in danger."

Fabian swore under his breath, something he didn't normally do. "Well, we'd better keep looking then," he said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

Just as he was about to take a step, he heard a _ding!_ come from his phone. He hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket.

_You two obviously have no idea where they are. I'll help you-Let's play a little game of hot and cold, shall we? -J_

Fabian looked around, his neck prickling. J was watching them.

"What is it?" Amber asked.

Fabian showed her the phone and she gasped. "That means...they're..._watching us._" she mouthed the last two words.

"I know." said Fabian quietly. "Let's just keep walking."

They walked along the woods a bit more, until the came to a clearing with a dirt road.

"Now what?" Amber asked. "Which way do we go."

Fabian looked both ways. Both sides of the road extended further than he could see, so there was no way to tell where the ended.

"Let's go...right." he said, and they started towards the right side.

When they heard another _ding! _ come from Fabian's pocket, the froze. Fabian took out his phone and held the screen so that Amber could see.

_You're getting colder, Fabes. Try the other way. -J_

Amber and Fabian glanced at each other.

"Should we do what they say?" Amber whispered.

"It could be a trap." Fabian whispered back.

"But what other options do with have?"

Fabian sighed. "Okay. I guess we'll have to."

They started to walk down the road to the right, careful not to say anything important because they knew they were being watched. After a few feet, Fabian got another text.

_You're getting warmer...keep going. -J_

He let out a deep breath. "You're sure we should do this?" he asked Amber. "It's probably a trap."

"I know." she sighed. "But we have to get Nina and Patricia back!"

They walked a little more ways, until Amber stopped suddenly.

"Do you smell something...burning?" she asked hesitantly.

Fabian sniffed the air. Amber was right, there was the faint smell of burning wood. He squinted through the trees, and even thought he could make out an orangey glow.

"Oh no." he breathed. "Is that-?"

But at that moment, they heard the dreaded _ding!_ of Fabian's cell phone. Hands shaking, Fabian pulled it back out of his pocket.

_You're hot! You're burning...you're on fire! -J_

Fabian looked back up at the trees and saw the orange glow much brighter, and his fears had been confirmed-it was fire.

"Oh no." Amber mumbled. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Please tell me Nina and Patricia aren't in there..."

But Fabian had already taken off running in the direction of the flames.

* * *

><p>Nina paced restlessly around the warehouse. She and Patricia had been locked in there for hours, and they'd barely spoken a word to each other. Neither of their cell phones were working, so they were stranded until someone found them.<p>

Patricia had taken to going through the many boxes stacked around the room. She didn't seem to have found anything-or at least she hadn't said anything to Nina.

Nina leaned back against the wall, the only sound being the rustling of papers as Patricia shuffled through the boxes.

"Find anything?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Maybe." Patricia didn't even look up. Nina groaned inwardly. So Patricia still didn't trust her, huh?

"Look, Patricia." she said. "I just want to know-why do you hate me so much? Is it something I did? Is it because I'm American?"

Patricia glared up at her. "You want to know why I don't like you? Okay, fine. Let's see, five minutes after you got here, you were in my room, and touching Joy's things."

"But I didn't-"

"_Then_, you get all buddy-buddy with everyone, and they all seem to love you, and completely forget about Joy! Not to mention you arrived exactly a year after Joy disappeared, so I think you have something to do with her...disappearance."

"You think I killed her?" Nina asked incredulously.

"Well, I don't know, but I think you had _something_ to do with it." Patricia lowered her eyes to the ground and her tone softened. "To be honest, I have no idea why I don't trust you, you just seem...suspicious. And you replaced Joy."

"Patricia." Nina sat down on the floor next to her. "I swear I'm not trying to replace Joy. I'm just trying to be friendly, and make friends, but...you're making that kind of hard for me. I know that you miss your friend, but...please give me a chance."

Patricia let out a sigh. "Okay...I'm sorry." she said.

Nina stared at her for a moment. Patricia apologizing? She was pretty sure that was almost unheard of.

"It's okay." she replied. "So...do you trust me now?"

"Well..." Patricia gave her a sideways glance. "I guess."

"Good." Nina smiled at her, and Patricia gave Nina the first real smile she'd ever given her.

"Since I trust you now," she said, "Have a look at these." She handed Nina a manilla folder of paper.

Nina opened it up and picked up the top sheet and looked it over. She looked back up at Patricia and gasped.

"But isn't this-?"

"Joy's missing persons report, yeah." said Patricia softly. "Or at least a copy of it. It has everything there-pictures, details of her disappearence, the transcript of everyone in the house's interrogation..."

Nina looked through the stack and saw that Patricia was indeed right. There were pictures of Joy, and everyone else in the house, and transcripts of their interrogations. She shifted through a few more pieces.

"Look-here's her school records." Nina said, handing Patricia a few more sheets of paper. "And medical ones..."

Patricia looked up at Nina, eyes wide. "Who is this person? And how did they get all this stuff about Joy?"

Nina shook her head. "I have no idea...This is beyond creepy. This person would have had to have broken into the police station, the school, _and _the hospital. That's near impossible."

"No kidding." Patricia nodded fervently.

"What else did you find in the other boxes?" Nina asked curiously.

Patricia shrugged. "I dunno. Junk, mostly. Some of them were empty. This one-" she gestured to the one next to them, of which she had pulled out the folder "-is full of a bunch of old toys."

"Huh." Nina peeked into the box. There were old dolls, blocks and other toys. She looked back up at Patricia. "Where do you think all this stuff came from? And...why did J want us to see it? I mean, they wouldn't have locked us in here if they didn't..."

"I have no idea." said Patricia, examining the friendship bracelet and comparing it to her own. "The person's obviously a stalker lunatic."

"Which is a very bad mix." said Nina, walking away from the box. Suddenly, the back of her neck started to prickle and she looked towards the window. It was dark outside, so she couldn't see anything, but she felt as though someone were watching them. She shivered at turned back to Patricia.

"Someone had better come find us soon, I'm starving." said Nina, massaging her stomach.

"Me too." Patricia groaned. "I'm sure if we don't come back soon, they'll call the police." Her eyes widened suddenly.

"What is it?" Nina asked.

"Well, I just thought...What if J, the person that locked us in here...is Joy's killer?" she mouthed the last two words.

Nina gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Don't say that." she whispered. "Just-think positively. Hopefully we'll be back at Anubis house before morning..."

"Well, that's comforting." Patricia snorted. "Another eight hours trapped in here with no food..."

Nina opened her mouth to respond, then paused. "Do you smell something? Something...burning?"

"I-" Patricia took a whiff of the air, then looked at Nina, eyes widened in terror. "Yeah."

"Oh no." Nina whispered. The room began to get warmer. She looked out the window again, and to her horror, saw flames licking the outside of the building. She jumped back and ran towards the door.

"It's on fire!" she shouted to Patricia. "We're going to be trapped!"

As she said it, flames started to burn through the interior of the warehouse as well, starting at the opposite wall and spreading fast, burning through all the boxes.

The two girls shouted and pounded at the door, wanting someone, anyone, to come save them.

"We have to get out of here!" Nina coughed on the smoke and leaned up against the door for suppport.

"You think?" Patricia said sarcastically, beginning to choke as well.

Suddenly, the door was wrenched open and Nina and Patricia stumbled out, coughing and choking. Nina felt strong arms wrap themselves around her and pull her away from the burning building, but she couldn't get a good look at who it was because her eyes were stinging badly from the soot.

She collapsed to the ground and felt herself being dragged away from the building, hoping her savior-whoever it was-had gotten Patricia as well.

She sank to the ground when the arms had removed themselves from around her. Taking a chance, she peeked open one eye.

For an instant, Fabian's blurry outline swam above her. "Nina!" she heard him say. "Nina!"

But the world had gone black.

* * *

><p>Dunn dunn dunn...Sorry for the long wait, but hope this chapter was worth it!<p>

I'm LOVING season 2 so far, by the way. PEEEEEDDDDDIIIIIIIEEEE! :D They need to get married already okay. Eddie is totally one of my favorite characters, and I'm going to be adding him in here within the next few chapters! What do you guys think of Eddie and season 2?

Oh, and one last note: I'm changing the rating of this story to T because things are going to get a bit more intense. Probably not too bad, but I'm just being careful.

Review? :)


	10. A Clue for the Clueless

_"Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets." -Paul Tournier_

* * *

><p>"-Lucky Fabian and Amber found them, otherwise they might not even be alive..."<p>

"Shh! She's moving!"

Patricia stirred feebly, beginning to come to her senses. Voices whispered excitedly around her as she slowly sat up and opened her eyes. Groggily, she was able to make out the blurry outlines of seven figures gathered around her.

"Wassgoin' on?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. Her limbs were all ache-y, and her head felt like it was filled with boulders. She moaned and slumped back on her pillows.

"Patricia!" There was a shriek, and Patricia felt herself being tackled in a hug.

"Amber! Get off her!" a firm voice repremanded. Patricia blinked, and her vision slowly began to clear; she was in a pale colored room, and lying in a bed with white sheets. Amber stood over her, grinning as widely as ever.

"Sorry!" she said sheepishly. "I'm just happy you're okay!"

"S'alright," Patricia grumbled, beginning to sink back into her pillows. Suddenly, the events of the previous night flashed though her memory, and she shot up like a bullet.

"Fire! There was a fire! And Nina-" She frantically looked around the room and spotted Nina smiling at her in the next bed over. She let out a sigh of relief. "What happened?"

"It's alright, sweetie," Trudy reached out and patted her knee. "Everything's been taken care of."

Patricia looked around and saw that the rest of the house was also gathered around her's and Nina's beds, their expressions ranging from overjoyed to concerned. Patricia relaxed slightly and sank back on to her pillows once more.

"The last thing I remember is-is-" The files! The friendship bracelet! Patricia glanced over at Nina and saw she was violently shaking her head, silently telling her not to tell Trudy or the others about this.

"-is...being locked in the warehouse, and smelling smoke." Patricia finished. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nina sighing in relief. She moved her hand to her left wrist to make sure both her's and Joy's bracelets were still there, and they were.

"So...who got us out of there?" she asked after a moment.

"Amber and I," Fabian answered. "We, er, we got worried, and went to look for you and we saw the smoke."

Something in Fabian's eyes told her that this wasn't the full story, but she'd interrogate him about it later.

"Well...thanks." Patricia said lamely. "We owe you one."

"What were you and Nina doing in that warehouse anyway?" Mara asked, looking curiously between the two of them.

Nina glanced at Patricia. "Well...we were going for a walk, and we saw it and wanted to know what it was like inside." she said. "Next thing we knew, the door was locked, and the place was on fire."

"You guys just wandered in an old building like that?" Mara asked, eyebrows raised. "That's so dangerous!"

"We know, it was stupid." Nina sighed.

Suddenly, Patricia remembered something else they'd found in the warehouse-the files! She looked around, but they weren't anywhere to be seen. Had they burned? Or had the police gotten them? Or worse-had _J_ gotten them?

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Nina and Patricia had gotten a clean bill of health and were released from the hospital. The two of them, Amber, Fabian and Alfie had all gathered in Nina's and Patricia's room and were sitting in an uncomfortable silence.<p>

Patricia had explained to the others that Alfie was being threatened by J to, and she was now sitting cross-legged on her bed, tracing the patterns on the bedspread. Amber sat below her on the floor, fiddling with her fingernails. Alfie stared at his shoes. Fabian checked his watch and jumped at every little sound. Nina played with her hair and stared off into space, wondering what on earth they were goint to do. All five of them avoided eye contact.

Finally, Fabian broke the silence.

"So...Nina, Patricia...you two feeling alright? After last night?"

"Yeah, fine." Nina said. Patricia nodded as well.

"What _did_ happen last night, anyway?" Alfie asked.

The other four shared a glance and said nothing for a moment. Nina sighed. "J baited Patricia and I into sneaking out into this abandoned warehouse in the middle of the woods, locked us in there, and then set it on fire. Fabian and Amber got texts from J about it, and they followed the clues to find us."

"Oh." Alfie said, his eyes remaining focused on the ground. Nina stood up and walked to the center of the room. "Well, did you find anything there?"

Patricia held up her wrist, and Nina could see two string bracelets tied around it.

"This one," Patricia said, pointing to the dirtier one, "was Joy's. We made these together back in sixth grade..." she looked down at her wrist sadly for a moment, then seemed to snap out of it and looked back up at the others. "We found it in the warehouse, on the ground. J said it was a clue to who killed her, but I don't get it."

"And what about the files?" Nina prompted. "Do you know what happened to them?"

"What files?" Amber asked.

"We found all these files on Joy there," Nina explained. "There were school records, medical records, her missing persons report-everything. It was creepy."

"I don't know what happened to them." Patricia added. "They probably burned with the rest of the place..."

"Just as well," Nina added. "We may not be able to use them, but that means that J can't either."

The others nodded, then were silent once more. Nina, getting slightly frustrated, stood up and walked to the center of the room.

"Look," she said, "we need to talk about this. Maybe if we look at all the notes, we can piece together who J is."

"No way." said Patricia immediately. "Mine are about...things that only Joy knew, and there was a reason for that."

"Same with mine." Amber added. "Sorry Nina..."

"Yep, not sharing either..." Alfie muttered, being unusually quiet.

"Fabian?" Nina asked, looking at him hopefully.

"Erm...well...I-" he stammered and shook his head. "I'm sorry Nina."

Nina nodded and exhaled slowly, feeling slightly hurt that the others didn't trust her. Especially Fabian! Her stomach clenched at the thought of Joy knowing something about him that she didn't. Wait, that was stupid. Why was she so jealous? Fabian was her best friend, but he'd been Joy's best friend for longer, so naturally Joy knew more about him. But she couldn't help but wonder what kind of secrets he and the others were hiding...

"Ohhh-kay. Well, do you guys have any ideas of who this could be?" she said after a moment. "I haven't been here as long as you guys, and I didn't even know Joy, so...Did she have any enemies?"

"Yes," Patricia answered immediately.

The others stared at her. "Who?" Fabian asked.

"Well...A lot of people hated her, because they were jealous of her," she replied, but Nina saw a flicker of unease in her eyes.

"Anyone in particular?" Nina questioned her further.

Patricia shook her head, not meeting her eyes. Nina frowned. Patricia was definetly hiding something...and so was everyone else, herself included, Nina realized as she glanced around the room at her friends. There seemed to be more to them than met the eye...

"Okay," Nina said. "Since nobody's willing to tell what their notes have said, how about we tell each other when we get another one? Maybe the timing will tell us something about who it is..."

"Okay," Fabian said, "but-"

He stopped, his face turning pale with a strange expression upon it.

"Fabian?" Nina squeaked. "What's wrong?"

"I just thought..." he began, his eyes darting around the room to look at the other four. "What if...What if...J was the one that killed Joy?"

It was a chilling thought. Nina took a shaky breath. Patricia, who had gone slightly green, curled her legs up against her chest. Amber peeked out the window, eyes wide.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Alfie said finally, "especially after what they did to Patricia and Nina last night."

"They definetly seem capable of it." Nina said softly.

"Great, as if being stalked isn't bad enough, now I find out I'm being stalked by a murderer?" Amber complained. "Why is this happening to _me_?"

Nina opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sound of her phone trilling. She reached into her pocket for it, but froze when she heard a _ding!_ coming from Fabian's phone. And another from Patricia's. Then Amber's and Alfie's. The five seemed to take a similtaneous deep breath before opening them up.

_You really think you can figure out who I am? As if. Remember, I'm always watching... -J._

_P.S. I may be a bitch, but I'm not a murderer. Here's a clue for the clueless: Joy knew too much about someone. The killer is closer than you think._

* * *

><p>"Alfie! Hey, Lewis!"<p>

Alfie jumped when he heard his name being called. After recieving J's chilling note the previous day, he'd been nervous and twitchy. He sighed with relief when he saw it was only Mr. Winkler, motioning for him to come into the classroom.

Once Alfie was inside, Mr. Winkler shut the door and turned to face him.

"Alfie," he said, "we need to talk about that essay you turned in last week. The one about ancient Egypt?"

Alfie felt his blood run cold-that was the one he'd stolen from his brother. He mananged a shaky, "Y-yeah, what about it?"

"It was...amazing." Mr. Winkler continued. "In fact, so amazing, that I'm nominating it for a Golden Orchid."

"A what?"

"A Golden Orchid. It's the most prestigious writing award in the country, and that essay was definetly Orchid-worthy!" he looked as Alfie expectantly, as though waiting for him to start doing flips or something.

"I-yeah, that's...great." Alfie swallowed. "I-thank you, Mr. Winkler."

Mr. Winkler titled his head and squinted at him. "Are you alright, Alfie? You don't seem like yourself. In shock, I suppose?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's it," Alfie gave him a weak smile, and Mr. Winkler clapped him on the back.

"Good. I'll be calling your family to let them know; I'm sure they'll be so excited for you." he said. "I'll see you in class?"

Alfie nodded shakily and exited the room.

What had he done? He hadn't meant for it to go this far...All he'd wanted was to boost his grade in history, not get nominated for a national award for an essay he didn't write! He needed to go back in there right now and tell Mr. Winkler the truth, before he called his parents. He shut his locker and faced the door, ready to march in and tell him, but something held him back.

Michael had always been better than Alfie at everything. Sports, grades, everything. Now...Maybe it was Alfie's turn. He wanted to be the best at something for once, and prove to his parents that he most certainly was not a failure, even if it meant stealing something of his brother's to do so. As long as Michael didn't read the paper and remember it, everything would be fine.

* * *

><p>So it's been...almost two months? -hides- I'm sorry! Writer's block will be the death of me.<p>

derp well I'm sorry this chapter sucked, but I'd still love it if you could review? A lot happens in the next chapter, and I'm *hoping* it'll be up soon, because I already started it.

OH-what did you guys think of both finales? HOA and PLL? Pretty epic, right? (even though Patricia and Eddie got like nothing in the HOA finale. sobsobsob. So I'm pretending the oneshot I wrote last week actually happened in the finale...)

So um. Please excuse the suckiness that was this chapter and look forward to the next one, because Eddie comes! Woo! In the meantime, leave me a review? :) xxx


	11. The Trust of the Innocent

_"The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool." -Stephen King_

* * *

><p>The early morning sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as a shadowy figure stepped out from the trees. It was a man, dressed in a black leather jacket with electric blue eyes. He made his way swiftly and silently accross the school grounds, unnoticed by anyone inside.<p>

On the other side of the school, a black cab pulled up to the curb, and out stepped a teenage boy with blonde hair. He took a look at his new school and let out a groan-yep, this was going to be exactly like every other school he'd been to...

The man continued along the outskirts of the ground, keen on not being seen by anyone inside any of the buildings. The students would just be awakening now, he had to be quick...He looked around the corner of one of the buildings, and saw the boy walking up to the school. Now was his chance.

The boy continued across the lawn until he reach the doors of the main school building and discovered they were locked. _Great._ He sat down on the steps outside to wait for someone to come unlock them.

"Psst!"

The boy jumped. What was that?

"Psst!"

He looked to his left and saw someone peeking around the side of the building. Squinting, he saw it was a man in a dark jacket, beckoning for him to come over. Whatever.

He stood up and walked around the side of the building to where the man was standing. Upon closer inspection he saw that the man had blond-ish grey hair, and the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen. Something stirred in the back of Eddie's memory, but he pushed it away, thinking he was just tired.

"What's your name?" the man whispered.

"Eddie..." he said cautiously, thinking it was someone that worked in the school.

"Hello Eddie," the man said. "My name is Rene Zeldman, I'm a private investigator. Do you go to this school?"

"Yep."

"How would you like to earn some extra money?"

"Um, sure-?" Eddie said.

"Okay, here's what I need you to do," Rene looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching. "A student here was murdered recently, and I'm working on her case. Her name was Joy Mercer, and she lived in the house that you're going to be staying in."

"Oh, okay, I'm staying in a dead girl's house," Eddie muttered. "Awesome..."

"I need you to keep an eye on everyone else in the house," Rene continued as though he had not hear Eddie. "Let me know if any of them act strangely, especially when Joy's name is mentioned. Get to know them, and report anything odd they tell you to me."

"Alright." Eddie said. It wasn't like he was going to be staying here long anyway. "But isn't that _your_ job? You _are_ a private investigator, after all..."

"Yes, but I can't get the students to trust and confide in me like they will with you, over time, and I won't be in the same house as them all day and night." said Rene. He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Eddie hesitated for a moment, and shook his hand.

"Good." Rene smiled, reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of British money. "Here's a bit of a down payment."

"Wow." Eddie's eyes widened. He didn't think he'd ever held this much money in his life.

"I want regular updates." Rene said, his smile disappearing as quickly as it came. "And one last thing-you tell no one about this. Understood?"

Eddie nodded. Rene smiled again and clapped him on the back. "Good lad. Here's my card-" he handed Eddie a small piece of cardstock, "-call me when you have something concrete to report."

The man disappeared behind the school, leaving Eddie wondering what exactly he had gotten himelf into.

* * *

><p>Patricia cautiously pushed open the door of Isis house and stepped inside. She'd gotten a text from her mother the previous night telling her to go there for a "surprise," and, wondering what on earth could be here, she had obliged before classes the following morning. Now, she stood awkwardly in the doorway, waiting for someone to come down the steps.<p>

A short woman with grey hair stepped out of door to her right and spotted Patricia.

"Oh! Hello Piper, I didn't know you went out!" The woman said. "I know you're new, so I'll let you off the hook this time, but you really have to sign out and let me know when you go out!"

"Wait, I'm not-" Patricia started, but she froze as she processed what the woman had said. Piper? New? Oh no...

"Hi, Patricia!"

Patricia's fears were confirmed when she looked up and saw who was coming down the stairs.

"Piper!" she practically snarled. "What are you doing here?"

Patricia's twin descended to the bottom step and grinned at her.

"I go to school here now! Ta-da!" she said, twirling around as though modeling her uniform. "What? Not happy to see me?"

"What happened to the music academy you went to?" Patricia demanded.

"Well, it wasn't really my _thing_, you know?" Piper smiled sweetly at the grey-haired woman standing in shock, looking between the two of them. "Mrs. Ackard, this is my twin sister, Patricia. She lives over in Anubis house."

"Ah," the woman's expression cleared. "It's nice to meet you Patricia!"

Patricia ignored her, glaring at Piper.

"Why did you have to come _here_ of all the schools in the state?"

Piper frowned at her. "Patricia, what's the matter? I thought it would be cool, us going to the same school!"

"Cool?" Patricia stared at her in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Piper looked hopeful. "I mean, we might even have some classes together!"

Patricia tried to take deep breaths and calm down. Maybe Piper was right, it _could_ be fun having her here...but then again, it could be a total disaster like last time.

But, as she looked up into her sister's hopeful face, she pushed those memories to the back of her mind. Maybe she could give Piper a second chance.

"Okay, yeah," she said, forcing a smile. "It's...good to see you."

Piper beamed and threw her arms around Patricia, who instantly turned as stiff as a board. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Yeah..." Patricia said halfheartedly. She wanted to get along with her sister, she really did, but they were just so...different. And it was weird how nice Piper was being to her. Usually, Piper treated her like dirt because she was more talented than Patricia and somehow mananged to beat her at everything, but people can change, Patricia supposed as Piper let go of her.

"Piper? Patricia?" said a voice from the top of the steps. Patricia looked up. A girl she didn't recognize with dark, pin-straight, auburn hair stood at the top.

"Hey Amelia!" Piper said to the girl.

"Amelia?" asked Patricia, shocked. "As in...Amelia Pinches?"

"That's me!" she smiled. Patricia stared at her. Amelia's dank, brown hair was now auburn, her skin now perfectly tanned, her nails perfectly painted, her teeth now perfectly straight. She was utterly unrecognizable.

"You two know each other?" Piper asked, glancing between the two of them.

It was a sticky moment. Patricia and Amelia did know each other, because Amelia had probably been Joy's favorite person to pick on. Patricia didn't always agree with the things Joy did to Amelia, but she'd never stood up for her. Nor had anyone else.

Finally, Patricia cleared her throat. "Yeah, we, uh, we've had some classes together before." Amelia nodded.

"Oh! That's cool!" Piper chirped, unaware of any tension. "Maybe the three of us could hang out sometime."

"Yeah, sure," said Patricia. "Listen, I should go get ready for class, but I'll see you around, yeah?"

She bid her sister and Amelia goodbye and left Isis house as quickly as she could.

As Patricia walked across the grounds towards Anubis house, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Though she hadn't gotten a note from J in a few days, the warehouse-on-fire incident had her on edge at all times, especially when she was alone.

So, naturally, she jumped a foot in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard someone say her name. "Patricia?"

She spun around and saw the grey-haired blue eyed man she'd seen after Joy's funeral in the woods standing behind her.

"What do you want?" She demanded, backing slowly away in the direction of Anubis house.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I'm here to help. My name's Rene Zeldman, and I'm a private investigator working on Joy's murder case."

Patricia narrowed her eyes. "Who hired you?"

"It doesn't matter," said Rene quickly. "You were best friends with Joy, right?"

Patricia nodded slowly. "Why?"

"And you were there the night she went missing?"

"Why do you need to know?" Patricia demanded.

"I'm just trying to gather all the facts I can." Rene replied. He glanced at his watch. "Look, students are going to be coming out here to get to class soon. Would you be willing to meet up with me and answer a few questions?

"I-Maybe," said Patricia. "If you'll tell me everything you find out-I want to help find Joy's killer as well."

"Deal." Rene handed her a small piece of cardstock. "There's my number. Call me, and we'll arrange a time."

He disappeared to the other side of the school building. Patricia watched him go, pocketing the card. Behind her, in the trees, she could have sworn she heard a farmiliar far-off giggle.

She spun around just in time to see a flash of brown hair disappearing into the woods. Patricia peeked further into the trees, but saw nothing else, so she dissmissed it as a figment of her imagination. However, when her phone let out a chime, she began to think it wasn't.

She opened her phone and saw she had recieved a new text message from an unknown number. Bracing herself for what was to come, she opened it.

_Thinking about taking "Rene" up on his offer? Don't. If you keep digging for answers, I might just have to bury you too... -J_

Patricia swallowed and shut her phone. Bury her? Did that mean what she thought it meant? Heart pounding, she peeked into the woods once more. Seeing no one, she turned to run back to Anubis house to tell Nina and the other what she'd seen-but instead found herself face to face with Lucas.

She let out a loud yelp and jumped backwards. Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Woah! Hey?"

"You scared me!" Patricia snapped, struggling to control her breathing.

"Sorry!" he said. "Are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost." he asked, taking in her wild eyes, pale skin, and shaky hands.

Patricia nodded shakily. "F-fine. I just-" She eyed Lucas suspiciously. Had he been the one that sent the text? Was he J? She _had_ started getting the texts right after he'd arrived, after all...

"Hey! What's wrong? Where are you going?" Lucas asked, looking slightly frightened as Patricia stumbled away from him.

"I have to, um-" Without thinking, she turned and ran away in the direction of Anubis house.

"Hey, wait!" she heard Lucas calling after her, but she didn't turn back. She needed to talk to Nina, or Alfie, or someone she could trust. Lucas couldn't be J...could he?

* * *

><p>I'm sorry this chapter kind of sucked too D: It was kind of a filler, but at the same time a lot of important stuff was introduced. And Eddie came! :D Let me know what you thought in a review? Please? :)<p> 


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